‘A charge on being sick’ - Calls for end to hospital car park fees as income grows in Kilkenny
St Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny has seen a large increase in revenue from its car park over the last five years
Sinn Féin TD for Carlow/Kilkenny, Natasha Newsome Drennan, has called for a funded plan to phase out hospital car parking charges, saying patients and families should not be charged simply because they need healthcare.
Figures provided by the HSE in response to a Parliamentary Question by Sinn Féin’s Spokesperson on Health, David Cullinane TD, show that hospital car parking income at St Luke’s Hospital rose from €190,656 in 2021 to €461,145 in 2025 - a 142% increase.
Statewide, income increased from €7.39 million in 2021 to €17.76 million in 2025. Speaking about the figures, Deputy Newsome Drennan laid out her belief in the unfairness of charging for hospital parking.
“Hospital car parking charges are a charge on being sick and visiting families and friends in hospital,” she said. “No one chooses to be sick or to have a sick child in hospital. Yet patients and families in the Southeast are being asked to pay these charges again and again.”
“People with disabilities, carers and families visiting loved ones in hospital are also being hit. The amount being raised through hospital parking has increased dramatically. Hospitals should not have to depend on money collected from sick people and their families.”
“We need a funded plan to phase these charges out. The Government should provide replacement funding as charges are phased out, while ensuring hospital parking remains available to patients and visitors,” she concluded.
Article funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme