The HSE's Find a GP directory lists 2,499 practices. Not one of them is obliged to take you on, and if you have just moved to Ireland, moved county, or simply never registered anywhere, you may already have discovered that the nearest three are not taking new patients. That is the situation this article is for: you need a doctor now, and the system assumes you already have one.
Here's the honest answer. You do not need to be registered with a GP to see one. Citizens Information is explicit that you can visit a GP as a private patient without a PPS number or any other documentation, and that if a practice's list is full you should try another in your area. While you look, an online doctor needs no registration and no membership: at HealthDoc a phone or video consultation with an Irish Medical Council registered GP is €34.99 in normal hours and €39.99 out of hours and at weekends, usually the same day, with certificates and referral letters issued where clinically appropriate. And if you hold or are applying for a medical card and three practices refuse you, the HSE will assign you a GP.
If you need a doctor today for something that can be handled by phone or video, book a consultation. The rest of this article covers how to find a practice that will take you, what your entitlements are if you are new to the country, and what an online doctor can and cannot replace.
Why so many people have no GP
Practices close their lists when they are full, and more of them are full than used to be. The Economic and Social Research Institute projected in June 2025 that Ireland needs an additional 943 to 1,211 GPs by 2040 relative to a 2023 headcount of 3,928, with consultations rising from 19.4 million to between 23.9 and 25.2 million. The Department of Health's own analysis the same month described clear capacity constraints in some growing and ageing areas. If you have moved into one of those areas, "not taking new patients" is what a capacity constraint looks like from the outside.
The other common reason is simpler: you never registered. Plenty of people in their twenties and thirties have not seen a doctor since they left their parents' practice, and only discover the gap when they need a certificate or a referral.
You can be seen without being registered
This is the fact most worth knowing. Citizens Information's guide to GPs and private patients says you do not need a Personal Public Service (PPS) number or other documentation to visit a GP, and that practices with a full list cannot take on new patients, in which case you should go to another practice in your area. It adds that you can transfer to the practice of your first choice later if it starts taking patients again.
So a single appointment as a private patient is a different question from being registered as a patient. A practice that will not add you to its list may still see you once, especially for something specific. Ring, say you are not registered anywhere, and ask. Expect the practice's standard fee, which Citizens Information puts at around €45 to €65, higher in some urban areas, and ask about charges before the visit.
Finding a practice that will take you
Three tools, in order.
The HSE's Find a GP directory. It lists practices by location. It does not tell you who has an open list, so the work is still the phone, but it gives you every practice within reach rather than the three you know about.
Ask, and widen the circle. Practices open and close lists as capacity changes. A practice that was full in spring may not be now. Ask each one whether they expect to reopen the list, and whether they will see you as a private patient in the meantime.
The medical card route, if it applies to you. If you hold or are applying for a medical card, there is a formal fallback: if you are refused by three GPs, the HSE will assign a doctor to you; state this on your application with the names of the three declining GPs and their clinics, which must be three different clinics. Three refusals from doctors at the same practice do not count. There is no equivalent assignment route for private patients, which is why the online option below matters.
Meanwhile: a doctor you can reach without a list
An online consultation does not need you to be anyone's registered patient. At HealthDoc you create an account, describe the problem, and choose a time; same-day appointments are usually available, including evenings and weekends. The consultation is with an Irish Medical Council registered GP, typically lasts 10 to 15 minutes, and costs €34.99 in normal hours or €39.99 out of hours and at weekends. Sick notes, fit-to-work certificates and referral letters are issued where clinically appropriate and arrive in your patient portal, usually within minutes of the call ending. There is no membership required, though if the search for a practice looks like taking a while, an Individual plan at €29 a month, or €24 a month billed yearly, covers unlimited consultations.
Two limits, stated plainly. An online doctor cannot examine you: anything that needs to be felt, listened to, measured or tested needs a practice or, out of hours, the services in the last section, and the doctor will tell you so. And an online service is not a substitute for having your own GP. The Medical Council's guide for patients using online services asks you to tell any online doctor the name of your GP and to ask for a note to be sent so your record stays complete. If you have no GP yet, ask the online doctor for a summary of your care and keep it, so that when you do register, your new practice can see what happened in the gap.
If you are new to Ireland, or visiting
Public entitlements depend on residency, and Citizens Information's rule is that you are ordinarily resident if you have been living in Ireland for at least a year or intend to live here for at least one year. Once ordinarily resident, anyone, regardless of nationality, is entitled either to a medical card if they qualify or to limited eligibility for public services. Without a medical card or GP visit card you are not entitled to free GP services, and you pay the practice's fee like any private patient.
Visitors are different. Citizens Information's guide for visitors states that a valid European Health Insurance Card gets EU, EEA and Swiss visitors necessary medical treatment in Ireland free of charge, but that EHIC only covers public healthcare, not private; UK residents can access necessary healthcare with a GHIC or EHIC; and visitors from outside the EU, EEA, Switzerland and the UK generally pay the full cost. An online consultation is a private service, so neither an EHIC nor a medical card applies to it, and the price is the price. If you are visiting rather than living here, check HealthDoc's terms before booking.
Out of hours and emergencies when you have no GP
The GP out-of-hours service exists for urgent problems when surgeries are closed, and the HSE describes it as being for all ages, by appointment only, with no walk-in service. It is free with a medical card or GP visit card if you bring the card, and charged as a private patient otherwise; the HSE's urgent and emergency care finder gives the number for your area. For an injury, an HSE injury unit sees you without an appointment for €75, free with a medical card or a GP referral letter. And for an emergency, chest pain, difficulty breathing, signs of a stroke, severe bleeding, call 999 or 112 or go straight to an emergency department, where nobody will ask whether you have a GP. HealthDoc is a private, elective service and says so at every booking.
Frequently asked questions
Can I see a GP in Ireland if I am not registered with one?
Yes. Citizens Information states you do not need a PPS number or other documentation to visit a GP as a private patient. Ring a practice, say you are not registered, and ask whether they will see you; expect the standard fee.
What do I do if no GP will take me as a patient?
Try every practice in the HSE's Find a GP directory, ask each whether they will see you as a private patient in the meantime, and use an online doctor for anything that can be handled by phone or video. If you hold or are applying for a medical card, three refusals from three different clinics mean the HSE will assign you a GP.
Can I use an online doctor without a GP?
Yes. An online consultation needs no registration with a practice. At HealthDoc it is €34.99 in normal hours and €39.99 out of hours and at weekends, usually the same day. Ask the doctor for a summary of your care to give your future GP.
Can I get a sick cert or referral letter without a GP?
Yes, from any doctor who assesses you, including an online doctor, where clinically appropriate. At HealthDoc a medical certificate is €24.99 and a referral letter €34.99 in normal hours.
I have just moved to Ireland. Am I entitled to free GP visits?
Only with a medical card or a GP visit card, and both depend on being ordinarily resident and, for most people under 70, on income. Otherwise you pay the practice's fee as a private patient.
Does my EHIC cover an online doctor in Ireland?
No. Citizens Information states that EHIC covers public healthcare only, not private. An online consultation is a private service and is paid for at its published price.
Written by the HealthDoc team. This article is general information for people in Ireland who are not registered with a GP, drawing on Citizens Information, the HSE and the ESRI, and on HealthDoc's own published prices and pages. It is not medical advice and not a statement of your individual entitlements. Last reviewed 19 September 2026.
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