How FairCare works

FairCare lists health and care services in Ireland only when a named source confirms they exist. Each listing shows that source and the date we checked it.

What “verified” means here

A listing is added to a category because a source places it there: the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland register for pharmacies, the HIQA register for nursing homes, or an explicit OpenStreetMap tag for other services. Extra details such as “sees children”, “home visits” or “sensory assessments” are recorded one by one, each with its own source and a short quote. If a source does not mention a detail, we leave it out. We never assume that a clinic treats children, offers home visits or accepts a medical card because similar clinics do.

This is why some filters show few results. A search for a children’s occupational therapist only returns services where a source says they work with children. An empty result means we have not confirmed it, not that no such service exists.

Provider websites

For 93 providers so far we have read the provider’s own website, matched it to the listing by address and phone, and recorded services, appointment or admission steps, fees, opening hours and practical answers with the page each fact came from. The check date on a profile is when we read the page, not a confirmation by the provider. Marketing language is not repeated as our own assessment.

Building photographs are only published when we have looked at the image, confirmed it shows the right premises with no people in it, and the reuse terms are settled. Until then a plain category placeholder is shown.

Why some categories are empty

Not every type of care has a public list we can use. Some registers can be searched one name at a time but cannot be copied, and some do not publish practice addresses. Counselling and psychotherapy do not have a statutory register open yet. We show these categories so you know they exist, and mark them as having no verified listings instead of filling them with guesses.

Psychologists, psychiatrists, counsellors and psychotherapists

These are four different kinds of care and FairCare keeps them apart in search. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who can prescribe medication. A psychologist is not a medical doctor and works through assessment and talking therapy. Counsellors and psychotherapists both offer talking therapy, usually with different depth and length. Searching for one never returns the others.

Ranking and payment

Results are ordered by distance when you share a location, otherwise by how much verified detail a listing has, then by name. Listings are free. Nobody can pay for a position, a badge or a review.