Weight loss injections in Ireland: every option, price and route
Five GLP-1 treatments are licensed and available in Ireland: Mounjaro, Wegovy, Ozempic, Saxenda and Rybelsus. Four are injections and Rybelsus is a tablet. Prices run from €149.99 for a single Saxenda pen to €554.95 for a two-pen Mounjaro package. All five are prescription-only, none can lawfully be supplied online, and only two are licensed specifically for weight management.
The five treatments available in Ireland
They all imitate the same gut hormone, GLP-1, which your body releases after eating. Copying it slows stomach emptying, quietens appetite signalling and improves insulin response. Mounjaro adds a second target, GIP, which is the accepted explanation for its larger average result.
- Mounjaro (tirzepatide), weekly injection, €554.95 for two pens. Largest average result in trials at 20.9 per cent.
- Wegovy (semaglutide), weekly injection, €279.95 for two pens. Licensed for weight management, 14.9 per cent average.
- Ozempic (semaglutide), weekly injection, €260 to €337 per pen. Licensed for type 2 diabetes, not weight loss.
- Saxenda (liraglutide), daily injection, from €149.99 per pen. Lowest entry price, highest annual cost.
- Rybelsus (oral semaglutide), daily tablet, €198 to €260 a month. The only one you do not inject.
Which are licensed for weight loss in Ireland
Only Wegovy and Saxenda are licensed specifically for weight management. Mounjaro carries both a diabetes and a weight management licence in Europe. Ozempic and Rybelsus are licensed for type 2 diabetes only.
This matters more than it sounds, because reimbursement follows the licensed indication. A treatment prescribed for diabetes can be reimbursed. The same treatment prescribed for weight loss usually is not.
The cheapest weight loss injection is not the one you think
Saxenda has the lowest entry price of the five at €149.99 for a single pen, falling to €106.00 per pen in a five-pack. That is why it constantly looks like the budget option.
It is a daily injection though, so you get through pens roughly seven times faster than a weekly treatment, and its average result is 8 per cent against Wegovy’s 14.9 per cent. Run it over twelve months and Saxenda lands near the top of the annual table at roughly €3,816, while Wegovy comes out cheapest per kilogram lost at around €265. The comparison page lays all five out on that basis.
How to be prescribed a weight loss injection in Ireland
There are three routes that work, and one that does not.
- Your GP. Cheapest consultation, €35 to €60, and they already hold your history. Some are cautious about weight management prescribing.
- A registered weight management clinic. €45 to €90, faster, and more likely to be comfortable prescribing. Check the prescriber is on the Medical Council register.
- Hospital referral. Free through the public system if you qualify, but the waiting lists are long.
The route that does not work is buying online. Prescription medicines cannot lawfully be supplied online in Ireland, and the HPRA detained over 750,000 units of illegal medicines in 2025. Our guide on getting a weight loss prescription in Ireland covers each route in detail.
Who qualifies for weight loss injections in Ireland
Wegovy and Saxenda are licensed for weight management from a BMI of 30, or from 27 where you also have a weight-related condition such as hypertension, sleep apnoea or prediabetes. A prescriber will also ask about pregnancy, thyroid cancer history, pancreatitis, kidney and liver function and any eating disorder.
What the Irish State will and will not pay towards
The rule is simple and it catches nearly everyone. Reimbursement follows the indication, not the drug. Prescribed for type 2 diabetes, a GLP-1 is covered by the Drugs Payment Scheme at €80 a month, or €1.50 per item on a medical card. Prescribed for weight loss alone, it is not reimbursed and you pay privately.
Private health insurance rarely helps either. Irish insurers generally do not cover the medication, though some policies contribute towards the consultation.
What to expect once you start a weight loss injection
All five start low and step up. Side effects are common early, mostly gastrointestinal, and usually settle within four to six weeks. Our side effects guide covers what helps and what needs a doctor.
And plan for the long term rather than a course. In the withdrawal trial roughly two thirds of lost weight returned within a year of stopping, which makes this an ongoing budget decision. What happens when you stop goes through the numbers.
Weight loss injection access by region: Dublin, Cork, Galway and beyond
Access to weight loss injections in Ireland is not evenly spread. Dublin has the highest concentration of private weight management clinics, followed by Cork and Galway, with Limerick and Waterford growing. In those cities you can usually be assessed within a week.
Elsewhere, in Sligo, Cavan, Offaly or Tipperary, your GP is the realistic route, and hospital weight management services are concentrated in the larger centres so a referral often means travelling. The medication price does not change by county, but the consultation cost and the waiting time very much do.
Weight loss injections Ireland: common questions
It depends what you mean by best. Mounjaro has the largest average result, Wegovy the lowest cost per kilogram lost, Saxenda the lowest entry price and Rybelsus is the only tablet. There is no single answer.
From €149.99 for a single Saxenda pen to €554.95 for a two-pen Mounjaro package. Add €300 to €500 in consultation and monitoring across the first year.
No. The HPRA states that supplying prescription medicines online is against the law in Ireland. They must be dispensed by a registered pharmacist at a registered pharmacy.
Wegovy and Saxenda are licensed from a BMI of 30, or 27 with a weight-related condition such as hypertension or sleep apnoea. The final decision is your prescriber’s.
Let us find your price and your prescriber
Tell us your county. We will come back with the best price near you and an Irish specialist who can assess whether it suits you.
- The best price available near you, pharmacy by pharmacy
- An Irish specialist who can assess you and prescribe if suitable
- Whether your case is likely to qualify for State reimbursement