Training funds: TSS, CCERS & more

The HSE funds a substantial share of NCHD education costs, including courses, exams and a laptop contribution, but only where claims are made, and most entitlements reset every July. This page covers each scheme, what it funds, and how to claim.

Training Support Scheme (TSS)

The TSS is an annual education and training allowance for every eligible NCHD, not only those on training schemes. Eligibility requires holding the 2010 NCHD contract for at least 12 weeks in an HSE-funded post. Agency doctors and university contract holders are excluded.

What can be claimed

• Exam fees, including failed attempts at exams on the CCERS list (CCERS itself pays only on a pass)
• Courses and conferences with CPD or CME accreditation, together with the associated travel, subsistence and accommodation (economy rates)
• Masters, Diploma, MD and PhD fees with a medical, quality-improvement or leadership component, claimable in instalments across years
• Professional Competence Scheme enrolment and Irish postgraduate training body membership fees
• Revision courses and question banks
• Journal publication fees and poster printing for research
• Software with a CPD component (SPSS, STATA, Prism, NVIVO, EndNote) and Microsoft 365 Personal
• A laptop or tablet: up to €1,000, once every four years, within the allowance rather than in addition to it. The laptop contribution is subject to benefit-in-kind tax; all other refunds under the scheme are tax-free

What cannot be claimed

• Medical Council registration and IMO membership
• Private indemnity insurance
• Books, podcasts, medical equipment, and laptop accessories or repairs
• Interview preparation and training-body application fees
• Membership of non-Irish training bodies, and USMLE unless required by your training programme

Claims are made through the TSS module of your NER account after the course or exam has taken place; no consultant approval is required. Attach receipts and keep the originals for six years. Payment is made through payroll, typically within four to six weeks. The allowance is pro-rata for less-than-full-time NCHDs, and statutory maternity, paternity and sick leave do not reduce it.

Planning time away? Read the NCHD maternity and paternity leave guide for pay, contract and return-to-training arrangements.

TSS and GP entry preparation

A prep vendor for the GP training entry test advertises its products as "Refund Via TSS Scheme" eligible. Eligibility depends on the type of expense:

• The GP training application fee itself (€150 for the 2027 intake, €100 for 2026) is a training-body application fee — explicitly excluded above — so it is not claimable, regardless of when you sit the test.
• An interview-prep product(for example, a bundled "GP interview course") is also explicitly excluded, since interview preparation is named in the same exclusion. Confirm the expense category before paying.
• A question bank or mock-exam product for the SJT/CPST itselfhas not been confirmed. The eligible category above covers "revision courses/mock exams... for TSS & CCERS eligible exams" — but that is framed around membership exams sat during training (its own example is CASC), not a pre-entry selection test like the SJT/CPST. The policy does not say either way for this specific case. Get a ruling from Medical Manpower or your NER TSS module before assuming it is covered, rather than relying on a vendor's advertised eligibility.

Check both your eligibility for TSS and whether the specific product qualifies. Holding an eligible NCHD post does not make every preparation expense reimbursable.

Clinical Course & Exam Refund Scheme (CCERS)

CCERS is separate from, and in addition to, the TSS allowance. It refunds the full cost of approved exams and clinical courses (MRCPI, MRCS, FCAI, MRCOG, ATLS, ACLS and the rest of the approved list) where you pass at the first sitting of that fee, and it does not draw down the TSS balance. Failed attempts are not covered by CCERS but can be claimed through TSS instead.

The deadline matters: applications must be made through the CCERS section of your NER account within six months of sitting the exam or completing the course. Claims missed beyond that window can only be made against any remaining TSS balance. Each exam or course is funded once per doctor, and certain listed exams must be sat in Ireland to qualify.

Specialist Training Fund

Higher Specialist Trainees and GP trainees in years three and four receive a separate €500 per training year for specialist equipment and textbooks, the categories TSS excludes. Unlike TSS, this fund rolls over between years, so unclaimed amounts accumulate. Claims are made to your postgraduate training body rather than through the NER portal.

CPD Support Scheme (CPD-SS)

NCHDs who are not on a training scheme can access up to 20 external CPD credits or three days of courses per year at no cost; the HSE pays the training body directly, so there is no reclaiming. The scheme exists to help non-training NCHDs meet the Medical Council requirement of 20 external credits per year. Eligibility requires registration on the General or Supervised Division and paid-up enrolment on a Professional Competence Scheme. Note the narrow window: enrolment runs from the July changeover to 30 September and late enrolment is not accepted. Cancelling a booked course with less than ten working days’ notice forfeits the credits, and a second occurrence excludes the NCHD from the scheme.

Relocation expenses

NCHDs who must move for a rotation can claim up to €1,000 in any 12-month period, as two €500 claims. Covered costs include furniture removal and storage, legal and auctioneer fees, travel to view accommodation before the move (for the NCHD and one family member), and temporary subsistence around the changeover. All items except the subsistence element require receipts. The national relocation expenses form is available from Medical HR.

Emergency tax at rotation: the €850 TRP

Where emergency tax applies to the first payslip after changeover, the Temporary Recoverable Payment provides €850 gross in the first payment from the new employer. Once the correct tax basis is applied, usually by the third fortnightly payroll, the €850 is deducted back, offsetting against the tax refund. The payslip guide explains how to avoid emergency tax in the first place.

For consultants

The 2023 Public Only Consultant Contract provides a €12,000 annual vouched CME fund plus an €8,000 research and innovation fund, with unspent CME transferable to innovation activity. The 2008 contract provides €3,000. The same €1,000 laptop contribution applies once every four years, and claims must be made within six months of incurring the cost.

This is general information for the 2026 tax year, last reviewed 4 August 2026. It is not financial, tax, or investment advice. For decisions about your own circumstances, consult the official sources linked on each page or a qualified professional. MedPath is not affiliated with the HSE or Revenue.