Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Thank you, Shane. You're welcome back to the programme.
You're listening to The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk with Aviva Insurance.
Chapter 2: What are the recent statistics on hospital parking charges in Ireland?
car parks at Irish hospitals have raised 73 million euro over the last five years. They brought in 17 million of that in the last year alone. So is it time for a change? Well, joining me now to tell me more is Policy and Campaigns Manager at the Irish Cancer Society, Emma Hart and Sinn Féin's Health Spokesperson, David Cullinan. David, I'll come to you first.
This is really interesting just to see the comparison between what the car parks earned in 2024 and 2025. And there's a really significant lift In some cases, if we look at St. James's Hospital, 1.6 million up to 1.9 million. Beaumont Hospital, 950,000 in 2024, 1.4 million in 2025. Is all of that money going back into the hospital coffers?
Well, first of all, I think the figure of 73 million over five years will surprise people. But also we hit a record 17 million, as you said, in 2025. Obviously, this is concerning for patients and for families and people who visit people in hospitals who have to pay.
The HSE have said on numerous occasions that obviously it is revenue for hospitals, but there is also some upkeep in relation to patients.
car parks, maintenance and so on and there are some operational costs but the vast majority of it goes to hospitals and I have been consistently saying that these charges increase the cost of being sick, to hit patients, to hit families, to hit visitors and staff at a time when many people are already under pressure, financial pressure.
And the patients I'm concerned about are people who attend repeated appointments, including cancer patients, people with long-term or serious conditions. These charges are just not a minor issue. They are an additional cost attached to accessing health care. And what I have called for, Clare, is for these charges to be phased out over three years because I have spoken to hospital managers.
The vast majority of them have no problem with charges being abolished if they are compensated for the loss of revenue.
And that's the thing, isn't it? So the money has to come from somewhere.
Well, I don't think the cost is huge in the overall context of the health budget. 17 or 18 million euro a year isn't huge. But obviously, the cost to a patient and to somebody who is visiting somebody is significant. There was issues raised with me, operational issues in relation to if the car parking charges were abolished, would people use the car parking spaces?
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Chapter 3: Why are hospital parking charges a concern for patients and families?
So I don't know what plan exists or certainly I haven't seen one that even starts to reduce the charges. I don't know if those discussions have taken place with hospital managers in relation to what unintended consequences they might raise. But I know that there are issues and ways around this. For example, you can validate car parking at receptions. That happens in hotels.
So there is obviously ways in which those consequences and mitigation measures can be put in place.
I think it would be easy enough to prove that you either had an appointment or you were visiting somebody in the hospital. Surely there is a way for tech to sort that out.
I think so, and that's the point that I made. So I'm accepting that it's not just straightforward abolish the charges on day one. I think we do need to phase them out. I think two or three years is a reasonable time period. The problem is that has the work commenced with hospital managers and with the HSE to get to a point where we can do it? So that's what I want to see.
We committed to that in our plan before the last election, but also in every budget we propose in our alternative budget costings to get to that point. So we're not at any point at the moment where we're still at the starting gate.
And I know that the Irish Cancer Society and others have been raising the significant additional burden that these charges have on patients, but also people who visit patients, particularly people who might be in hospital for a week or two weeks or even longer. If you have family members who are visiting every day, it is a significant cost over the course of a week or a month.
So I think it's the fairest thing to do if we want to get to reducing the cost of health care. and implementing slanted care. This is obviously one of the low-lying fruit measures that can be used to reduce the cost of healthcare for families and for visitors.
Well, David, you mentioned the Irish Cancer Society and we have Emma Hart, as I said, on the line policy and campaigns manager. And Emma, the Irish Cancer Society have been beating this drum for a long time now because it is people who have to make repeat visits to hospital who get hit hardest by these charges, isn't it?
It is, and thanks, Clare. So the Irish Cancer Society has been asking the government to abolish car parking charges for cancer patients nationwide. We have been asking about this for a very long time.
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Chapter 4: What are the proposed changes to hospital parking charges?
I feel like that's something that could be ironed out in the detail.
And David Cullinan said there to us a moment ago that his conversations with hospital managers, they've no issue with parking being free in the hospitals, but they do need this money replaced, which means that it would cost the health service 17 million euro. That's what parking brought in all over the country in 2025.
Can you see that that is an issue for government and for the spending on the health service, which is already very, very high?
I think it's really important that we look at the additional burdens that have been put on people who are facing a cancer diagnosis. So at a time where they should be focusing on getting better, unfortunately, they are then having to figure out how they actually pay to get to their treatment.
And so while I understand that there are additional considerations to this conversation, I think it's really important that we also try and manage and look after the well-being of people who face this additional cost just to get to their treatment. And I think that's really something that should be a strong part of this conversation. And we really, really look forward to some solution for them.
So for you, is this about having no parking charges for people who are having cancer treatment and let everybody else who's using the hospital car park pay for it?
So the Irish Cancer Society obviously wants to speak on behalf of people who are affected by cancer. But our campaigns have actually supported other people in the past. So previously we had called for an abolition of inpatient charges for cancer patients. And when the government came to look at it, they decided that they're going to abolish that for all people.
So I believe if that's a decision that the government makes, a rising tide will lift all boats. At this point in time, I can only speak for the needs of people affected by cancer who come to us again and again to tell us that this is a cost too much.
Listeners, the messages are flying in here. The private consultant's clinic at the back of Cork University Hospital now costs a tenner an hour. And it's to put off regular visitors from parking there. My sister was there recently. She has mobility issues and it cost her 20 euro for one visit.
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