HSE reviews hospital parking charges after €73.5m paid in six years

Hospital car parking charges brought in a record €17.76 million last year, prompting the Health Service Executive to order a review of the fees paid by patients, visitors and healthcare workers.

Figures provided by the HSE show that income from parking at public and voluntary hospitals increased by 140 per cent between 2021 and 2025.

Hospitals collected €7.39 million from parking charges in 2021, rising to €10.61 million in 2022, €13.46 million in 2023 and €16.18 million in 2024.

A total of €73.5 million has been collected since the beginning of 2020.

The decision to conduct a review has been criticised by Sinn Féin TD John Brady, who said patients and their families needed action rather than a further examination of the issue.

The Wicklow TD and chairman of the Public Accounts Committee said a previous review had been ordered eight years ago by then minister for health Simon Harris, but had not resulted in meaningful change.

Successive programmes for government have included commitments to examine ways of reducing hospital parking charges.

“The fact that the HSE has now ordered a new review of hospital parking charges, eight years after the last review was ordered by Simon Harris, is a damning indictment of the Government’s failure to tackle this issue,” Mr Brady said.

“Patients and their families should not have had to wait eight years for action while more than €73 million has been taken through hospital parking charges between 2020 and 2025.”

He said the charges placed additional pressure on people who were already dealing with illness and the associated financial and emotional strain.

The cost could become particularly significant for patients attending frequent appointments for cancer treatment, chronic illnesses or other serious conditions, he said.

“This amounts to a stealth tax on people who have no choice but to attend hospital to access the care they need,” Mr Brady said.

He claimed hospitals had become dependent on parking income to compensate for wider funding pressures within the health service.

Sinn Féin has included proposals to reduce and cap hospital parking charges in its alternative budgets and has said its longer-term objective is to abolish the charges for patients.

“Patients don’t need another review, they need the Minister for Health to act and ensure that access to healthcare is never determined by a person’s ability to pay for parking,” Mr Brady said.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation welcomed the review but said it must also address the cost and availability of parking for hospital employees.

An INMO spokesperson said parking at many hospitals was both inadequate and expensive, creating an additional cost for nurses and midwives providing essential public services.

Many staff members had little practical alternative to driving because of poor public transport links, high housing costs near hospitals and shift patterns involving early mornings and late nights, the organisation said.

“Nurses and midwives often drive long distances to work because of poor public transport links and a lack of affordable housing near hospitals,” the spokesperson said.

“Nurses and midwives work shifts, often ending or beginning at unsocial hours. High car parking fees are a total disregard for the safety of a predominantly female workforce.”

The INMO said lengthy commutes could compound the exhaustion experienced by nurses and midwives after long shifts.

“There are many risks to exhausted nurses and midwives driving long distances home after their shifts, which has tragically been proven catastrophic for some of our members over the years,” the spokesperson said.