There are currently 3 providers in Ireland.

The largest of the three is The Voluntary Health Insurance Board. The board is appointed by the Minister for Health and Children.

BUPA Is the second largest provider private health insurance in Ireland. An advantage of BUPA is it is also recognised in the UK

VIVAS HEALTH Is the new arrival for private heath insurance in Ireland

Ireland has a reputation for poor and expensive health care, but it is no worse than the UK. Any EU national or ordinary resident is entitled to for Free.
a) All in-patient public hospital services in public wards, including consultant services, subject to certain charges. There is a daily charge of €45 for public hospital accommodation, up to a maximum limit of €450 in any consecutive 12 months.
b) All other out-patient hospital services, including consultants.
Accident and Emergency department treatment. If your doctor refers you, there is no charge. Otherwise it costs €45 per visit.
c) Maternity and Infant care services including the services of a GP during pregnancy and for up to six weeks after the birth.

If you don't mind waiting you maybe better just using the health service.

My Fiancée and I are in a private medical scheme. It doesn't quite work the same as in the UK. In the UK I could pick where I wanted to go, who I wanted to see and when I wanted to go. Recently my fiancée was experiencing abdominal pains, so she went to the doctor who after an examination told her to get an overnight bag and go to A&E. We were there 7 hours while they did tests and they then sent her home. She was still in pain so she spoke again to her doctor who suggested she got some Ultra sound scans done, we had to arrange these ourselves and the insurance agreed to pay half. The Scans showed up a cyst and passed the results on to the doctor. Once we had got hold of the doctor and the results had reached him several days later he suggests the cyst is removed and we have to make an appointment with a consultant. The earliest we could see a consultant is three weeks time. Things then seemed to move a bit quicker, quicker than we thought. She went to see the consultant and the next thing I had a phone call at work saying she was on her way home to pick up some bits as they were operating that afternoon. It was delayed slightly and after they had dealt with a couple of emergencies. They operated in the evening. I went back the next day to visit and she was discharged. After a couple of weeks at home she was fighting fit and back at work.

If you have medical expenditure in Ireland and are a taxpayer - you can get tax relief on all expenses - medicine, treatment (except dental) If you live in Ireland and do not have a medical card, you are considered a private patient if you visit your GP. This means that you must pay for the services provided.

A visit to a GP will cost you around 30 to 40 euro - and some insurance schemes will refund some of this fee. I can see this happening in the UK, but it does ensure you only go to the GP when you actually need to.

There are no set fees or charges in Ireland for GP services. My local doctor charges €40 when I visit him. He also charges for a repeat prescriptions. I am sure he will charge me for other things if he gets the chance. When you register with a GP check their charges as the can vary quite a bit.
 

If you want private (i.e.quicker) health care - then obviously health insurance is for you. But if you are willing to join the queue with everyone else - then insurance may be a waste of good money. (A typical basic insurance scheme could cost €875 euro for a family of 5)

If you have a medical card prescription for medicines are free, if not you pay for the cost of the drugs up a 78 euro a month maximum for a family.

If you suffer from certain long term conditions you may be able to obtain medicines and equipment free of charge the list of conditions that are covered is available here