Anger at delay of review into hospital car parking charges
By Maurice Garvey
A DELAY in publishing a national review into car parking charges at hospitals nationwide, is creating further misery for vulnerable patients, according to Fianna Fáil TD John Curran.
In March, Minister for Health, Simon Harris ordered a national review of hospital car parking charges.
Entrance to the multi-storey car park in Tallaght
This was after the Irish Cancer Society asked the HSE to scrap the charges for cancer patients, citing patients who are paying up to €63 a week in parking fees.
Deputy Curran received confirmation recently from the Minister that the report is yet to be finalised despite a commitment to publish the findings of the review in August.
He said: “This is an issue I have been consistently highlighting for some time now and I was initially pleased when a decision was taken by Government to carry out a review of hospital car parking charges across the country.
“This review should have been carried out without delay and then ultimately led to clear national guidelines being put in place on car parking fees in hospitals such as Tallaght and St James’s.
“Reducing the pricing policy for cancer patients would no doubt help alleviate some of the stress with managing a long-term and serious illness.
“This is not a case of lifting these charges for no good reason, this is about adopting a more compassionate and fairer approach for hospital patients in long-term treatment.
“This Government need to be put under pressure to publish this report and get these necessary changes in place urgently.”
