Government commitment to reduce hospital parking charges ‘not prioritised’

“FOR SOME REASON, naively, I thought this had all been resolved. That’s when I realised nothing had changed.”

Between May and September she reckons she paid over €1,000 on parking alone. Carthy is not an outlier. An Irish Cancer Society survey in 2021 found that families of children with cancer could pay an average of over €200 per month on parking. This would cost hospitals at least €4.75m per year to offset reductions in parking income, according to a 2018 HSE review.At Noteworthy, our PARKING PRESSURE investigation examined key documents obtained through Freedom of Information requests, analysed accounts and spoke to experts to find out if there has been any progress on these promises and the impact high costs are having on families around Ireland.

I remember thinking: ‘Well if one hospital can do it, albeit a smaller set up, then why can’t another?’ She wasn’t alone in questioning the system. The Irish Cancer Society began campaigning on this issue in 2016, the same year it produced its ‘Park the Charges’ report. Years of promises and inaction Following the Irish Cancer Society report, the then-Minister for Health Simon Harris asked the HSE to carry out a national review of hospital car parking charges in March 2018 “with the aim of establishing clear national guidelines on this area for the first time”.

It recommended that hospitals cap the maximum daily rate for parking at €10 and concessions for regular patients be introduced. At the time it was produced, at least 10 hospitals charged more than this. In the ‘Fairer and Affordable Care’ section it promised to “introduce a cap on the maximum daily charge for car parking for patients and visitors at all public hospitals, where possible”, and “introduce flexible passes in all public hospitals for patients and their families”.

When we asked the HSE for a copy of the implementation plan and an update on the progress, a HSE spokesperson said: However, the HSE review in 2018 found that the maximum rate in at least 10 hospitals exceeded its recommended €10 cap. Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie Aontu TD Peadar Tóibín: “We weren’t going to wait for the government.” Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie

noteworthy_ie aflchambers Try working in one, I do and it’s very very expensive to park!

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