The HSE who set the guidelines for first aid qualifications, such as the 6 hour Emergency First Aid at Work and 18 hour First Aid at Work courses, still state in their guidelines that in order for a course to meet their requirements and approval it must include an element of face to face (hands-on) learning with the trainer, so they can assess your ability to provider practical first aid.

Any first aid courses that are run purely online and do not include an element of face to face learning with a trainer will not meet the approval of HSE and therefore any certificates which are issued by the training provider might not cover your work place requirements or be valid for insurance purposes.  

Please read the full HSE statement regarding online first aid training here.