Telephone numbers in the Republic of Ireland

Numbers on the Irish telephone numbering plan are regulated and assigned to operators by ComReg.
Telephone numbers in Ireland are part of an open numbering plan that allows variations in number length. The Irish format is similar to systems used in many parts of Europe, notably the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Belgium and France, where geographical numbers are organised using a logic of large regional prefixes, which are then further subdivided into smaller regions. It differs from UK numbering, which originated as alphanumeric codes based on town names.
Irish Mobile and non–geographic numbers are fixed length and do not support local dialling.
The trunk prefix 0 is used to access numbers outside the local area and for all mobile calls. This is followed by an area code, referred to as a National Dialling Code (NDC), the first digit of which indicates the geographical area or type of service (e.g. mobile).
Calls made from mobile phones and some VoIP systems always require the full area code and phone number.
In common with most European countries, the trunk prefix 0 must be omitted when calling Irish numbers from abroad.
Irish area codes vary in length, between one and three digits (excluding the leading 0), and subscribers' numbers are between five and seven digits.
As optional local dialling is facilitated, Irish geographic numbers cannot begin with 0 (trunk prefix), 1 (special number prefix) or 999 (emergency services). However, mobile numbers use the full range of digits, as local dialling is not supported on mobile networks, and the area code must always be dialled.
A migration to a standard format, 0xx xxx xxxx, is in progress; however, to avoid disruption, this process is only being carried out as needed, where existing area codes and local numbering systems have reached full capacity. There is currently no plan to move to a closed numbering system.
Irish geographic numbers vary in length from area to area, but follow standard formats within each area code.
The area code, or prefix, is normally separated by a space, or less commonly, may be displayed in parentheses (brackets). Numbers are usually grouped into easy to read clusters, separated by spaces or hyphens for ease of use.
The use of spaces is recommended by ComReg for ease of compatibility with online services, such as linking to a phone number in a mobile browser, copying and pasting into mobile diallers etc
Other characters, such as / or . are not used as separators.
Area codes / prefixes are always separated from the subscriber number. Merging or reformatting these tends to cause confusion or make numbers look unfamiliar.
While formats vary, numbers are usually printed (e.g. in telephone directories) as follows:
Geographic:
Non-geographic
Mobile
Mobile M2M (Machine to Machine)
Alphanumeric dialling, using letters as mnemonics for advertising etc is supported, but is rarely used.
Irish geographical numbering is structured on a regional basis and follows a logical hierarchy.
These directory areas correspond approximately to the following geographical regions:
The Midlands is covered by several regional codes.
Except for the 01 area, each area is further subdivided into smaller areas (NDCs). Usually, the main city or town in the area is 0x1 e.g. 021 (Cork), 061 (Limerick), 091 (Galway).
ComReg maintains a map of area codes here.
Mobile phone numbers start with the prefix 08x and are part of a closed numbering plan, which means that a mobile phone number must have 10 digits. Calls to landlines and other mobiles require the area code on a mobile phone.
New numbers are assigned on prefixes and ranges managed by a specific operator. However, as full mobile number portability has been in operation since 2003, it is no longer possible to reliably identify which network a particular number is on. For example, a newly assigned Three number would begin with 083, but may have been ported to another operator in the meantime.
Mobile phone numbers also have their own voicemail number. To access this, the number 5 should be put after the prefix. For example, the mobile number 08x xxx xxxx has the voicemail number 08x 5 xxx xxxx.
On some networks, when the direct to voicemail number is called, the voicemail greeting for that network is played (e.g. Vodafone, eir Mobile), while others request a phone number followed by the voicemail greeting for that number (e.g. Three). Users can press the hash key (#) to gain access to the voicemail box.
Although Northern Ireland is part of the UK numbering plan, a special arrangement exists for calling Northern Irish landlines from the Republic of Ireland.
Calls to Northern Ireland can be dialled using the 048 prefix or by dialling the number in the full international format. Most Irish operators treat calls to Northern Ireland at national or even local rates. Similar charging arrangements apply when calling the Republic of Ireland from Northern Ireland.
For example, to reach Belfast landline 90xx xxxx, subscribers can dial either 048 90xx xxxx or 00 44 28 90xx xxxx.
Northern Ireland mobile phones use the same mobile numbering and networks as other parts of the UK – calls must be dialled using the 00 44 7xxx xxx xxx format.
In common with all EU countries, the international access code is 00.
Numbers should be dialled as follows: 00 – country code – area code – local number.
All mobile phones and some VoIP services also support the international E.164 number format, so a + may be optionally used instead of 00.
General operator assistance no longer exists in Ireland.
The emergency number for Ireland is 999. However, the 112 code also accesses the emergency operator. This code is harmonised across the EU. Either can be dialled.
112 can also be contacted by SMS. While the service is open to all users, it is primarily aimed at the deaf community.
Pre-registration used to be required. Further information can be found at Sending a text to 112.
Irish premium rate telephone numbers start with 15 and are read in two-digit blocks e.g. 1550 is "fifteen fifty".
The rates given below are from ComReg and are indicative only. One must check with their specific telephone service provider for exact rates.
A special 50XXX code is used for free–of–charge SMS.
Premium rate services in Ireland are regulated by ComReg.
Irish non-geographic numbers consist of two national prefixes and the international freephone service.
Where high volume 'bursty traffic' is anticipated, such as on-air radio competition lines, the first two digits of the phone number are always 71. For example: 1800 71x xxx or 0818 71x xxx. This allows the telephone network to manage traffic during number analysis, even before the call is routed.
Ireland's non-geographic numbers and pricing structures were simplified and old shared-cost prefixes were withdrawn on 1 January 2022. These changes mean that calls to non-geographic numbers are either freephone, or always included in call bundles, ensuring consumers are not confused by out of bundle, or other unusual charges.
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, several numbers in the 1850 and 1890 ranges have remained in service until they were retired in 2023. This is to avoid disruption to essential health services during a time of high volumes of calls. These remained in service until 30 November 2023, alongside new numbers that have replaced them. Advertising of these numbers will cease. Calls to these numbers will be charged on the same basis as calls to landlines or 0818 and included in call bundles.
Freephone numbers are free to call from mobile handsets; however, the recipient can elect to refuse mobile–originated calls or choose to accept calls only from predefined geographical region(s).
NB: 1800 can only be dialled from within Ireland. Numbers should never be printed or presented in the international format +353 1800 as these clash with working Dublin landline numbers in the 01 area +353 1 800 xxxx. Alternative geographic numbers, or an 0818 number should be used instead, if international access is required.
Following a 2019 review of non–geographic numbers Comreg decided to withdraw and close the 1850, 1890 and 076 number ranges by 1 January 2022. During the transition period, these ranges were geo–rated (charged as if they are geographical numbers).
From August 2019, various telecoms providers announced price changes which took effect on, or just before, 1 December 2019, including Virgin Media Business, in2tel, Virgin Media, eir, Tesco Mobile, Three, Digiweb, Pure Telecom, 48 months, Sky and NUACOM
From 1 January 2022 callers to the withdrawn prefixes receive recorded announcements.
Carrier preselect is normally used where the exchange automatically uses the customer's preferred provider(s).
These services give the user more information about their phone line (applicable only to lines provided using the OpenEir access network.)
Check which carrier a subscriber is using for each category of call:
Special short codes are used to control various supplementary services offered by digital local exchanges. These services were first introduced as PhonePlus in 1981, on the first generation of Alcatel E10 and Ericsson AXE digital exchanges used in Ireland, and were rolled out nationally throughout the 1980s.
These services are available on all Irish PSTN lines, regardless of operator. There is a more expansive range of services available, but these are the most commonly used. Different codes apply on cable telephony lines, such as those provided by Virgin Media Ireland and on VoIP providers.
When this service is active, the dial tone changes to a two–frequency 'siren' tone.
Most exchanges confirm setup with a verbal announcement; however, some exchanges may use a ringing tone to indicate successful service setup and a busy tone to indicate an error/invalid code.
(Codes are unique to Virgin Media Ireland and do not follow ETSI guidelines)
The subscriber will either hear a tone or a voice message to confirm services have been set up or deactivated.
Several major number changes have occurred since 1990. The telephone number changes in Dublin and Cork took several years to complete, as they were busier area codes with few available lead digits. Other number changes took place in just one step, with all numbers being changed simultaneously.
To minimise disruption simultaneous working was enabled, allowing old numbers to remain mapped and active for a run-in period of one year. Caller ID only displayed the new numbers. This was followed by recorded announcements which remained active for at least a year, advising callers of the number change. Eventually this would be replaced by a dialling error message.
Dublin (01) changes to 7-digits.
Cork (021) changes to 7 digits.
All local numbers with the area code 01 are currently 7–digits, but may change to 8–digits in the future, although breaking the city into separate area codes would match the rest of the national system.
A review and public consultation on the future of Ireland's numbering plan was undertaken.
All of the above were withdrawn on 1 January 2022.
A range of numbers from 192, 193 and 194 were once used for various Telecom Éireann customer service and account service lines.
Belfast could previously be reached by dialling 084 in place of the UK area code 0232.
Until the early 1990s, the 03 numbering range was originally used for calls to Great Britain, including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, with the Irish prefix 030 replacing the UK trunk code 0.
Calls to British cities using the director telephone system were also possible using shorter codes:
031 was replaced with 03071 and 03081 when 01 was split into the area codes 071 and 081 in 1990.
Use of 03 for this purpose was discontinued in 1993, when the international access code changed from 16 to 00, with calls to Great Britain (but not Northern Ireland) requiring the country code +44 and the area code in full.
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