Attempt to end hospital parking charges for many patients
A new Bill has been put before to the Dáil which if passed would see the end of Hospital Parking Charges for many patients. The Bill was introduced by Aontú Leader Peadar Tóibín, and seeks to end hospital car parking charges for many patients attending out-patient services in public hospitals.
In proposing the move the Meath politician cited a 2016 report compiled by the Irish Cancer Society called 'Real Costs of Cancer' which stated that 80% of patients were paying at least €60 a month.
Parking charges can be as high as €4 an hour in some hospitals across the state. In Cavan General however there is a flat charge of €3 regardless of length of stay.
Speaking on the launch of the Bill, Deputy Tóibín stated: “Paying car parking charges when you are attending out patients services or emergency services at your local hospital is an additional stress and pressure for many people. These charges are especially financially hard on patients such as cancer patients or patients who are critically ill who many have return regularly for hospital treatment. Paying Hospital parking charges on the same day as getting a diagnosis of cancer can be emotionally very difficult.
“In 2018, the then Minister for Health Simon Harris announced a review of hospital car parking charges. The recommendations from this review have never been publish. It was suggested that hospital car parking charges were due to be capped at €10 a day yet my understanding is many hospitals have not complied with this. Some hospitals have provided discounts to Cancer Patients on the back of the Irish Cancer Society campaign but knowledge of these discounts is not widespread”.
He said that before the last election Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and Labour promised either to cap hospital car parking charges or provide free parking for patients, and noted that despite the consensus, it has not happened.
"Patients cannot wait for the government to get it together to finally resolve this. The Aontú Bill provides for an entitlement to free parking for up to three hours in the carpark of a public hospital, where an occupant of the vehicle (either the driver or a passenger) is attending the hospital to receive out-patient services. We urge the TDs of other parties to support the Aontú Bill through the Dáil as fast as possible”