{"id":13194,"date":"2026-03-12T12:40:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T12:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/students.studyinireland.ie\/?page_id=13194"},"modified":"2026-03-12T13:01:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T13:01:33","slug":"essentials-once-arrived-in-ireland","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/students.studyinireland.ie\/en\/essentials-once-arrived-in-ireland\/","title":{"rendered":"Essentials and cost of living"},"content":{"rendered":"

Essentials and cost of living<\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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To help you further with your planning, here is the essential information on subsistence, transport, and healthcare for your time in Dublin.<\/p>\n

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  1. Subsistence and Food Costs<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Dublin can be expensive, but students can manage costs by shopping at budget supermarkets and cooking at home.<\/p>\n

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    • Groceries:<\/strong> Expect to spend between \u20ac250 and \u20ac350 per month<\/strong> on groceries.\n
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      • Budget Tips:<\/strong> Shop at Aldi<\/strong> or Lidl<\/strong> for the lowest prices. Use Tesco<\/strong> or Dunnes Stores<\/strong> for “own-brand” products.<\/li>\n
      • Street Markets:<\/strong> Moore Street and Camden Street are great for affordable fresh fruit and vegetables.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
      • Eating Out:<\/strong> * A casual lunch (sandwich\/coffee) costs around \u20ac10\u2013\u20ac15<\/strong>.\n
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        • A “student meal” (e.g., a burger or burrito) is typically \u20ac8\u2013\u20ac12<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
        • Dinner at a mid-range restaurant costs \u20ac20\u2013\u20ac30<\/strong> per person.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
        • Dining Apps:<\/strong> Use the Too Good To Go<\/strong> app to buy surplus food from cafes and bakeries at a fraction of the original price (usually around \u20ac4\u2013\u20ac6 for a large bag).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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          1. Public Transport & The Student Leap Card<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            The Student TFI Leap Card<\/strong> is your most important tool for getting around Dublin affordably.<\/p>\n

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            • The Discount:<\/strong> You get 50% off<\/strong> standard adult fares on Dublin Bus, Luas (tram), DART, and Commuter Rail.<\/li>\n
            • Fares (2026 Rates):<\/strong>\n
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              • 90-Minute Fare:<\/strong> Only \u20ac1.00<\/strong>. This allows you to transfer between any combination of bus, tram, and rail for 90 minutes.<\/li>\n
              • Short Fare:<\/strong> \u20ac0.75<\/strong> for very short journeys (usually under 3km).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
              • Fare Capping:<\/strong> This is a safety net for your wallet.\n
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                • Daily Cap:<\/strong> Once you spend \u20ac3.00<\/strong>, all further travel that day is free.<\/li>\n
                • Weekly Cap:<\/strong> Once you spend \u20ac12.00<\/strong> (Mon\u2013Sun), all further travel that week is free.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
                • Requirement:<\/strong> To get this card, your course must be at least 6 months (25 weeks)<\/strong> long and 15+ hours per week<\/strong> (the ISI Academic Year course qualifies perfectly).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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                  1. Healthcare and Medical Insurance<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    Ireland has a “mixed” healthcare system. While public, there are still costs for most services.<\/p>\n

                    Mandatory Medical Insurance<\/strong><\/p>\n

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                    • The Law:<\/strong> As a Non-EU student, you must<\/strong> have private medical insurance for the entire duration of your IRP (GNIB) registration.<\/li>\n
                    • Coverage:<\/strong> Your policy must cover at least \u20ac25,000<\/strong> for accidents and \u20ac25,000<\/strong> for illness, including hospital stays.<\/li>\n
                    • Cost:<\/strong> A basic student-compliant policy (often called “Medicover” or a “Travel Policy”) usually costs between \u20ac125 and \u20ac160<\/strong> per year.\n
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                      • Note:<\/em> If you stay for a second year, you may be required to upgrade to a more comprehensive private policy (like VHI or Irish Life).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                        Accessing Medical Care<\/strong><\/p>\n

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                        • General Practitioners (GP):<\/strong> If you are sick, you go to a local doctor (GP) first.\n
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                          • Cost:<\/strong> A standard GP visit in Dublin costs between \u20ac50 and \u20ac70<\/strong>. Some clinics offer a discounted “Student Rate” of approximately \u20ac40\u2013\u20ac55<\/strong> with a valid student ID.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
                          • Prescriptions:<\/strong> You must pay for medications at the pharmacy. Costs vary, but many common items are between \u20ac10 and \u20ac25.<\/li>\n
                          • Emergencies:<\/strong> If you have a serious emergency, call 999<\/strong> or 112<\/strong>. An Accident & Emergency (A&E) visit to a public hospital without a GP referral costs \u20ac100<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Essentials and cost of living To help you further with your planning, here is the essential information on subsistence, transport, and healthcare for your time in Dublin. Subsistence and Food ...","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"both","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":301,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13194","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.studyinireland.ie\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.studyinireland.ie\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.studyinireland.ie\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.studyinireland.ie\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.studyinireland.ie\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13194"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/students.studyinireland.ie\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13202,"href":"https:\/\/students.studyinireland.ie\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13194\/revisions\/13202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.studyinireland.ie\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.studyinireland.ie\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.studyinireland.ie\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}