Government must scrap hospital parking charges for seriously ill patients

Nationally, January 2024 has been the second worst January for hospital overcrowding since the INMO began counting trolleys in 2006

placeholder image — Nationally, January 2024 has been the second worst January for hospital overcrowding since the INMO began counting trolleys in 2006

Deputy Michael Lowry has called on Government to scrap car-parking charges for seriously ill patients who frequently use Hospital carparks. ‘The reality is that seriously ill patients and families of seriously ill children are being burdened with costs that they simply cannot afford’ he says.

Addressing Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, in the Dail on Wednesday, the Tipperary TD said that ‘In 2016 the Irish Cancer Society published a report entitled ‘Park the Charges’ in a bid to have hospital parking charges waived for Cancer Patients. Government pledged to act on this. Nothing happened.

‘In 2020, Government committed to putting a cap on these charges. Nothing happened.

‘In 2022, the Cancer Society published a report that highlighted the hidden cost of Parking for families that frequently use Hospital Carparks.

‘Today, 40% of hospitals in Ireland continue to charge full parking costs to cancer patients and other patients undergoing lifesaving treatment. Some patients require daily treatments and these parking charges can run to hundreds every month.

‘Patients who are very ill have to cope with physical and emotional trauma. It is unjust to impose an additional financial strain on already vulnerable people. Government must do the right thing and scrap these charges’ he said.

Minister Donnelly replied that Government has taken some really important steps in this regard, some of which were called for by The Irish Cancer Society.

He said that there are very few hospitals that now charge more than the standard €10 daily parking charges and that the Department is engaged with all of these Hospitals.

'For those families who really cannot afford it, we want to make sure that there’s a very quick and responsive system whereby they can access parking for free’ he said.