Medical Cards allow people to access Family Doctor or GP services, community health services, dental services, prescription medicine costs, hospital care and a range of other benefits free of charge.

Most people who get a Medical Card do so because their income is below a certain level. It is also possible to get a Medical Card if the costs of meeting your medical needs causes you financial hardship, or if you have entitlement under EU regulations.

Medical Cards are issued by the HSE's 32 Local Health Offices nationwide, and these offices also accept and carry out the assessment of your application.

For Medical Card Applications, the HSE only considers your income after tax and PRSI is deducted, rather than total income.  We also make allowances for expenses on childcare, on rent and mortgage costs and on travel to work. 

NOTE: From January 1 2009, changes have been made to Medical Card Eligibility for people aged 70 years and over.
You can read more about these Changes for Over 70s here.

What next?

If you would like to apply for a Medical Card, the following options will be useful.

Q & A:
A detailed page with a range of Questions and Answers on Medical Cards and how they work

Forms and Guidelines:
This section provides you with the Medical Card Application Forms in Irish and English. It outlines the income limits for applicants. It also includes the Assessment Guidelines followed by HSE staff when assessing applications.

Apply:
Send your completed form to your Local Health Office, and if you need to ask any questions before you send it, you can call the HSE infoline on 1850 24 1850, or find contacts for the Medical Card Section in your Local Health Office below:

HSE Medical Card Offices - Direct Telephone Contacts:

Dublin Central 01 8575402
Dublin North 01 8661413, 01 8661408, 01 8661407, 01 8661411, 01 8661410, 01 8661414, 01 8661409
Dublin North West 01 8825000
Dublin South City 01-6486500 or 6486599
Dublin South East 01 2680313, 01 2680311
Dublin South West 01 4154715, 01 4154731
Dublin West 01 620646, 01 6206462
Dun Laoghaire 01 2365216, 01 2365217
Kildare / West Wicklow 045 876001
East Wicklow 0404 68400
Laois/Offaly 044 93 84448, 044 93 84437
Longford/Westmeath 044 93 84448, 044 93 84437
Cavan/Monaghan 049 4377114, 049 4377115
Drogheda 041 9800494, 041 9801085, 041 9800494, 041 9800490
Louth 042 9381240, 042 9385448, 042 9381365, 042 9381302
Meath 046 9078833, 046 9078893
Galway 091 546266
Mayo 094 9022333
Roscommon 0906 637509 0906 637510
Donegal 074 9189006, 074 9131391
Sligo/Leitrim and West Cavan 071 9155141, 071 9620308
Clare 065 6868075
East Limerick/North Tipperary 067 46600
Limerick 061 483703, 061 483756
Carlow 059 9136533, 059 9136549
Kilkenny 056 7784733, 056 7784619, 056 7784604
South Tipperary 052 77249, 052 77250, 052 77251
Waterford 051 842800
Wexford 053 23522
Cork City 021 4923900
Kerry 066 7184543