Saxenda in Ireland: price, HSE cover and how to get it

What is Saxenda?

Saxenda is the brand name for liraglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist used for weight management in suitable adults. It is injected daily and should only be used after a clinician reviews suitability and contraindications.

Saxenda price in Ireland

These are the Saxenda prices that Irish pharmacies publish on their own websites, checked on 12 October 2026. They are medicine prices. Private Saxenda costs also depend on the provider, dose, pharmacy supply and consultation fees, so always confirm whether a displayed price includes the medical consultation, prescription handling, dispensing and delivery.

The full list, with Wegovy and Mounjaro alongside, is on the pharmacy price list. To add consultation and delivery to a medicine price, use the cost planner.

Can you get Saxenda for free, on the medical card or the Drugs Payment Scheme?

For most people, no. The HSE has reimbursed Saxenda under the medical card (GMS) and Drugs Payment schemes since 1 January 2023, but only for a narrow group and only after an individual application is approved.

• Who is covered: adults aged 18 to 74 with a BMI of 35 or more who also have prediabetes and a high risk of cardiovascular disease, using Saxenda alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.
• Who applies: the prescriber, for each patient, through the HSE Primary Care Reimbursement Service. Approval has to be in place before the prescription is written for reimbursement. You cannot apply yourself.
• How long it lasts: the first approval runs for six months. To continue, the prescriber must show a loss of at least 5% of starting body weight after 12 weeks on the 3.0 mg daily dose. Support runs for up to two years from the first application. If treatment is to continue after that, the prescriber has to make a new application, so ask your GP or the HSE what applies to you.
• Under 18s: the HSE lists a separate protocol for adolescents from 1 February 2026, applied for by specialist consultants.

Approval does not always mean no cost at all. The Drugs Payment Scheme covers approved medicines, and the HSE tells people to apply for it if they pay more than €80 a month. What you would pay under either scheme is a question for the HSE or your pharmacist. Without approval, Saxenda is a private prescription paid in full.

The licence is wider than the HSE scheme: Saxenda is licensed for adults with a BMI of 30 or more, or 27 or more with a weight-related condition. That is why many people who can be prescribed Saxenda privately are not covered by the HSE. Rules change, so ask your GP or check with the HSE before assuming either way.

Read the HSE reimbursement guide for the source documents, and the medical card and Drugs Payment Scheme guide for the approved-item rules and charges.

Buying Saxenda online in Ireland

Saxenda is a prescription medicine, so a lawful online route is a consultation first. A prescriber reviews your medical history, current medicines and contraindications, and a registered pharmacy dispenses the medicine if a prescription is issued. A consultation never guarantees a prescription.

Before paying, ask whether Saxenda is currently offered, who the prescriber is, which pharmacy dispenses, and what the medicine, delivery and any follow-up review cost. The provider comparison lists the services we have checked and what each one publishes. Avoid any seller that offers Saxenda without a prescription. The HPRA explains the dangers of buying prescription medicines online.

How Saxenda differs from Wegovy and Mounjaro

Saxenda is a daily GLP-1 option, while Wegovy and Mounjaro are weekly injections. Many newer provider pathways focus on weekly medicines, but Saxenda can still be relevant for some patients depending on clinical suitability, availability and prescriber advice.

• Saxenda: liraglutide, injected once a day. The dose starts at 0.6 mg and rises in weekly steps to 3.0 mg a day.
• Wegovy: semaglutide, injected once a week.
• Mounjaro: tirzepatide, injected once a week.

Read Saxenda vs Wegovy for the daily and weekly routines side by side, or the main guides to Wegovy in Ireland and Mounjaro in Ireland.

Provider questions to ask

Ask whether Saxenda is currently offered, how daily dosing is supported, what happens if side effects occur, and whether a weekly alternative would be more suitable for your medical history and budget.

Sources

• HSE Medicines Management Programme: managed access protocols and the Saxenda protocol for adults (version 1.2, approved 11 May 2023). Checked 29 September 2026.
• HSE: Drugs Payment Scheme. Checked 29 September 2026.
• European Medicines Agency: Saxenda (licence and dosing). Checked 29 September 2026.
• Pharmacy prices: each pharmacy's own page, linked in the table. Checked 12 October 2026.

GLP-1.ie is not a clinic or pharmacy and this page is not medical advice. A prescriber decides whether any medicine suits you.