Buy Medical Equipment in Ireland

When the crate comes from outside the EU

A unit shipped to Dublin from Great Britain has been a non-EU import since 1 January 2021. It needs a customs declaration in Revenue's Automated Import System, and its wooden crates must meet ISPM 15. Who acts as the EU importer for that shipment is for the hospital and its own adviser to settle. Those steps sit alongside the two radiation regulators an imaging purchase has to satisfy.

We're MediGear, a UK-registered medical equipment distributor based in England and Wales, and healthcare buyers in more than 80 countries get their quotes, documents, and freight from us. For hospital equipment in Ireland, we find verified makers who can supply the unit and check the registration and radiation points on this page. The quote then goes back to your clinical engineers and procurement team. Requests reach us through our buyers page, and nothing needs to be set up first.

Public, voluntary and private buyers in Ireland

We quote for HSE and voluntary hospitals in all six health regions, including Donegal hospitals in the West and North West, and for the private sector:

• Acute hospitals in Dublin, such as St James's, Beaumont and the Mater
• Cork University Hospital, University Hospital Galway and University Hospital Limerick
• Children's Health Ireland, whose new national children's hospital on the St James's campus is being commissioned
• Bon Secours, a private hospital group, with Blackrock Health, the Mater Private Network and other private providers, and imaging clinics
• Dental and veterinary practices, each with its own EPA category for X-ray
• Beacon Hospital in Sandyford, where an expansion is under construction
• Irish distributors of medical devices, and importers, registered with the HPRA

Since 1 March 2024, the Irish health structure has been six HSE regions, replacing nine CHOs and six hospital groups. Public contracts follow the 2016 regulations on awarding public authority contracts. Opportunities are advertised on eTenders, the central facility for public bodies. HSE Procurement sources health products together with the Office of Government Procurement. A private clinic replacing one ultrasound unit needs a clear quote, so say which applies.

HPRA registration and English-language labels

The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) is the competent authority for the EU Medical Devices Regulation in Ireland, and it says it does not approve devices. Under the 2017 regulations, labels and instructions must be in English, or in Irish and English. Distributors established in Ireland must register with the HPRA, providing their details and the device types they distribute. Importers register through EUDAMED, which also records them nationally.

An importer must be established in the EU, so who holds that role when a hospital buys straight from the UK is a question for the hospital and its advisers. We are not established in Ireland as an importer or distributor, and regulation is not an area we advise on. Before ordering anything, your team can check the certificates set out in the quote.

The EPA, HIQA and your X-ray room

In the Irish healthcare system, two regulators oversee radiation in diagnostic imaging. The Environmental Protection Agency covers workers and the public, and its list of practices shows which need a registration, such as general radiography, mammography and most dental units. CT, fluoroscopy and interventional work need a licence instead. Authorisation must be in place before use, and changing X-ray equipment under a licence needs an amendment first.

HIQA covers patients. A provider must notify HIQA at least a month before starting medical exposures. Equipment needs acceptance testing before first clinical use, then regular performance tests, generally once a year and every two years for dental units. Installing or servicing X-ray equipment is itself a practice the EPA registers, so agree in writing who will install the unit.

Plugs, testing and records in Ireland

Four points usually need settling with the maker:

• Type G plugs. Sockets take the same three-pin Type G plug as in the UK. EU product rules define mains as 230 V at 50 Hz. Medical electrical equipment built for 110 V or 60 Hz may need to be rebuilt from the factory.
• CT dose records. CT and interventional units must record and transfer dose data, and fluoroscopy needs automatic dose-rate control. Check these features on the data sheet, since the exemption for equipment installed before 6 February 2018 does not cover every requirement.
• Spares and stock. Ask the maker how long it supports the unit's medical consumables. We can add the spare parts and consumables your clinical engineers usually reorder to the same quote.
• Network links. DICOM and HL7 settings, and any link to the hospital's patient records, should be agreed with your IT team well before installation day.

If a point stays open, we put it to the maker in writing before we quote, since it is easier to answer now than during acceptance testing.

Revenue's AIS and the crate rules

Revenue takes import declarations in its Automated Import System, lodged by the importer itself or through a customs agent, so each order ships with:

• A commercial invoice and packing list for the AIS declaration
• Proof of where the goods were made
• An HS code beside each product on the invoice
• The declaration of conformity, with CE certificates attached
• Labels and instructions in English

Since 1 January 2021, wood packaging moving between the UK and the EU has had to meet ISPM 15, and it may be checked on or after entry. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is the plant protection body, and its guidance on wood packaging and ISPM 15 sets out the treatment and the stamp. Heavy units ship in timber, so we ask makers for stamped crates.

Sea freight to Dublin Port or Cork

1. Send what you have. Send a model number, a specification, or a photo of the old unit, along with the hospital and your importer's name, via RFQ form or email.
2. Look for the route. Each quote shows which port the unit will use, along with the product, lead time, and certification, and catalogue items are usually quoted within 48 hours.
3. Approve it. We start sourcing only after your written approval.
4. Sea freight. Into Dublin Port or the Cork Container Terminal at Ringaskiddy.

From the quay, your importer or customs agent lodges the import declaration in AIS, and you arrange the last leg to site. Storms can close ports at short notice, so leave some slack in the plan.

A single unit, a new service or a refurbished scanner

Small orders are welcome: on most catalogue lines, one monitor or autoclave for a practice in Kerry is quoted like any other request. New imaging services and wards are quoted as multi-line requests; see hospital setup for that work, and endoscopy teams can browse Gastroenterology Equipment. Hospital laboratories can send a list of laboratory equipment as one multi-line request. Our refurbished range covers pre-owned units, and we found no Irish rule written for refurbished medical equipment. A refurbished X-ray unit still needs its acceptance testing before clinical use, and a CT unit installed now must meet the dose-reporting rules.

Disclaimer

This page gives Irish buyers general information only. We are not making an offer to supply here, and the page is not legal, regulatory or customs advice. Makers' availability determines what we can quote, and a written agreement from both sides makes an order firm. Whether we can supply a device depends on its CE marking and intended use, and X-ray equipment requires EPA authorisation and notice to HIQA. Customs clearance and regulatory checks are your responsibility, and we are not an Irish importer or distributor.