Getting an Insulin Pump in Ireland

This page was last updated in January 2023.

Most people with diabetes in Ireland get their insulin pump upon recommendation from their diabetes clinic or consultant based on the qualifying criteria set out in HSE guidelines and Models of Care documents. 

Sections on this page included:

  • Cost of Insulin Pumps

  • Where can I get an Insulin Pump

  • Insulin Pump Qualifying Criteria for Children and Adults

Cost of Insulin Pumps

The health service provides insulin pumps plus consumable products for free under the HSE’s Community Funded Schemes and the consumables on the long-term illness scheme. The pump training is also provided without any charge in public hospitals. If you attend a diabetes consultant privately, then you may have to pay for this training as well as the consultancy fees. 

There is more information about insulin pumps at the end of this page, including how insulin pumps work and what pumps are available in Ireland.

Where can I get an Insulin Pump?

However, it is important to know that even though some diabetes clinics support pump users, not every diabetes clinic has the expertise to initiate insulin pump starts. Hence, it makes sense that you will not be offered what cannot be provided in the clinic you attend. 

Clinics where Insulin Pumps can be initiated: 

Most large regional hospitals have a full-service pump programme, such as Galway, Sligo, Cork, Letterkenny, Tallaght, Beaumont, The Mater, and, coming soon, Limerick at the end of 2023. The 2018 National Survey of Diabetes Care Delivery in Acute Hospitals lists Insulin Pump Clinics in Table 7: Speciality diabetes clinics per hospital (Page 17, Section 3.3.2). These clinics support people who are already using insulin pumps but don’t necessarily have pump training for new pumpers. 

How do I find out if my clinic offers Insulin Pumps?

Online support groups are an excellent way to find out what clinics offer insulin pump therapy; you can find one of the many support groups here or private Facebook Groups such as the Diabetes in Ireland Group and connect with people already “pumping” or by using the hashtag #IREDOC on Instagram or Twitter. 

If you don’t attend a Clinic that offers Insulin Pumps; 

In this situation, you might have the option to transfer your care to a diabetes clinic with an insulin pump programme. You can do this by getting a referral from your existing clinic or your GP. Alternatively, your consultant or GP may recommend a referral to a private hospital for an insulin pump and training. 

Insulin Pump Qualifying Criteria 

There seems to be a lack of consistency in the qualifying criteria to be eligible for an insulin pump in Ireland which is very confusing. However, there are eligibility criteria, and there are different criteria for adults and children over the age of 12 years and children under the age of 12 years.  

For Children aged under 12 years

It is standard practice that all children under the age of 12 years are offered an insulin pump. The HSE Model of Care for the provision of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion for the treatment of Type 1 Diabetes in the under-five age group, updated in July 2012, states in the Executive Summary that: 

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence NICE Guidelines (2008) state that “Insulin pump therapy should be recommended for children younger than 12 years with type 1 diabetes as a treatment where clinically appropriate”. This model of care has been developed in order to provide this service to children with type 1 diabetes under five years old.

However, this document goes on to say that assessment for suitability for Insulin Pump therapy is done through the Kaufman Competency Scale (Section 3.6 Selection Criteria for CSII Therapy, Page 10). And there may be long waiting lists for pump training due to the lack of specialist staff. It is worth noting for parents that the NICE UK guidelines on Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion for the treatment of diabetes mellitus Technology appraisal guidance, updated 2022, recommend Insulin Pump Therapy for children younger than 12 years with type 1 diabetes mellitus provided that:

  • MDI therapy is considered to be impractical or inappropriate, and

  • children on insulin pumps would be expected to undergo a trial of MDI therapy between the ages of 12 and 18 years.


The centres providing insulin pump therapy are, but are not limited to:

  • Children’s University Hospital, Temple Street (Dublin)

  • Cork University Hospital

  • National Children’s Hospital, Tallaght (Dublin)

  • Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda

  • Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin (Dublin)

  • Sligo University Hospital

  • Limerick University Hospital

  • Galway University Hospital

  • Portiuncula University Hospital, Galway

These units receive referrals from the surrounding areas. Additionally, Sligo provides an outreach service to Letterkenny General Hospital.

Adults Insulin Pump Qualifying Criteria

According to the National Clinical Programme for Diabetes, the most recently updated guidance by NICE on Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion for the treatment of diabetes mellitus Technology appraisal guidance, updated 2022, are the recommendations used to assess eligibility criteria for an insulin pump; this is referenced in the HSE’s National Clinical Guidelines for Adults with type 1 diabetes published in 2018 (see page 51).

The NICE UK 2022 guidelines recommend Insulin Pump Therapy for adults and children 12 years and older with type 1 diabetes provided that:

  • attempts to achieve target haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels with multiple daily injections (MDIs) result in the person experiencing disabling hypoglycaemia. For the purpose of this guidance, disabling hypoglycaemia is defined as the repeated and unpredictable occurrence of hypoglycaemia that results in persistent anxiety about recurrence and is associated with a significant adverse effect on quality of life

or

  • HbA1c levels have remained high (that is, at 8.5% [69 mmol/mol] or above) on MDI therapy (including, if appropriate, the use of long-acting insulin analogues) despite a high level of care.

However, individual Diabetes Centres may have developed their own guidelines for the provision of insulin pumps (various Parliamentary Question replies in 2022), making all of the above redundant. In addition to the lack of insulin pump specialist staff in our diabetes clinics, there are other barriers to accessing an insulin pump, including a lack of awareness of the benefits of insulin pumps (Gajewska, 2020). However, there are some things you can do if you find yourself in a position of deciding that an insulin pump is going to make life easier, do keep reading.