Medical Care Scheme

If you get injured:

• at work
• on an unbroken journey to/from work
• or contract a prescribed occupational disease

while insured, the Medical Care Scheme may refund any costs not covered by the HSE or the Treatment Benefit Scheme.

To qualify, you must:

• be injured as a result of your work or
• on an unbroken journey to/from work or
• contract a prescribed occupational disease developed due to the nature of your injury and
• notify the department within 6 weeks of starting medical treatment
• hold a job at PRSI class A, B, D, J or M

Not all work accidents or diseases are immediately obvious.

If you are injured but not immediately incapacitated, you should:

• tell your employer without delay
• apply to this department for a declaration that your injury/disease was due to your job

If you are applying for Occupational Injury Benefit or the Medical Care Scheme, it isn’t necessary to also apply for a declaration.

Applications for declarations should only be made if you are not, at least for the foreseeable future, applying for one of the Injury Benefit Schemes.

The following necessary expenses may be refunded:

• doctors' visits
• prescriptions
• certain appliances (artificial limbs, hearing aids, and so on)
• repair and replacement of those appliances
• certain dental and optical treatments
• certain treatments prescribed by your doctor (for example osteopathic, acupuncturist or chiropractic)
• certain travelling expenses (usually limited to public transport)

Payments are made by electronic transfer.

You may receive payments in instalments for ongoing treatments, but typically only one payment will be made. Payment is usually made to the claimant, but may also be paid to the HSE or to the employer, if necessary.

To apply, fill in the form below.

Your application must include the original receipts. Copies will not be accepted.

Send applications to:

Operational guidelines describe the processes and procedures that staff in the department follow when carrying out their work.

Operational Guidelines: Occupational Injuries Benefit - Medical Care under the Occupational Injuries Scheme.