First aid training online in Ireland: why the workplace first aider needs PHECC FAR, and what an online course is for

The law

Part 7, Chapter 2 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 299 of 2007) deals with first aid. Employers must provide and maintain suitably marked first aid equipment, and, where the size or hazards of the workplace require it, occupational first aiders in sufficient numbers, and must tell employees about the first aid arrangements. Section 8 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 requires employers to provide training, and section 11 requires emergency plans and procedures, including first aid. The HSA publishes Guidelines on First Aid at Places of Work as part of its guide to the Regulations.

The FAR standard

The HSA's first aid page, read on 9 November 2026, is explicit: the PHECC First Aid Response training standard is the recognised standard for occupational first aid in Irish workplaces. PHECC is the statutory regulator for pre-hospital care education; it authorises Recognised Institutions and Approved Training Institutions to deliver, examine and certify FAR, and the certificate is joint PHECC and institution.

• Initial FAR training is based on a 3-day (18-hour) classroom course and the certificate is valid for 2 years.
• Recertification is a 2-day (12-hour) classroom course, normally for people who recertify within 30 days of expiry.
• Blended learning is available, which cuts the classroom time to 2 days for initial training and 1 day for recertification, but the practical, assessed classroom element remains.
• The instructor to learner ratio is 1 to 8 at most.

If your role is the workplace first aider, FAR is the course, and it is taken in person with a PHECC-approved institution.

What an online awareness course is for

Most people in a workplace are not the first aider, but the first minutes still depend on them. An awareness course teaches:

• How to recognise cardiac arrest, choking, severe bleeding, anaphylaxis, stroke and a seizure.
• How to call 112 or 999 and what to tell the operator.
• The steps of CPR and how a defibrillator is used, so that a bystander can act while the first aider is fetched.
• The recovery position and when to use it.
• Where the first aid kit and the defibrillator are kept and who the first aiders are, which the Regulations require employees to be told.

Lift College's First Aid Awareness Training (Ireland) is 2 hours in 5 modules, written for Ireland with the 2007 Regulations, the HSA, the PHECC FAR standard and the 112 and 999 numbers. It is priced in euros. It costs €22.99, pay once, with 14-day money back. Its own FAQ says it does not make anyone a workplace first aider.

What it cannot do

• Count as the occupational first aider qualification. Only FAR does that.
• Teach the physical skills to an assessed standard. CPR, bleeding control and defibrillator use are practised on manikins in the FAR classroom.
• Stand in for the employer's first aid needs assessment, which decides how many first aiders a workplace needs.

How often to refresh

FAR holders recertify every 2 years. Lift College follows the same rhythm for awareness: a recommended refresh every 2 years, free.

Where to go next

• See the course: First Aid Awareness Training (Ireland).
• Need the workplace first aider qualification? Ask the HSA's first aid page for the PHECC list of recognised institutions and book a FAR course near you.
• Browse all Ireland courses, priced in euros.
• Workplaces in the UK should take First Aid Training, which covers UK law.