According to a local councillor, hospital visits can be difficult at the best of times and for patients who require continued treatment have enough pressure without the additional costs connected with car parking charges.
Cllr Aine Smith is calling for an end to hospital parking charges which follows comments made by the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly who said he was very much aware of the financial implications for patients and their families that car parking can have. Cllr Smith says she recently spoke to a local woman who estimated she is paying €200 a month in parking fees at the Mater Hospital where parking costs up to €15 a day.
The local councillor said that, for years, people with long-term conditions and their families “have been promised” by successive government that measures to combat high fees in hospital car parks would be introduced. She says this needs to be looked at as a matter of urgency.
