Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies. I am certainly sympathetic to the proposal that car parking should be free for cancer patients. Everyone in this House would be sympathetic to that, although it raises the obvious question of what should happen for people receiving treatments for illnesses other than cancer. Why would they have to pay and others would not? There would be an inequity in that which would have to considered. We also need to bear in mind that not all car parks are owned by the hospitals. Some are privately owned and operated and, in some cases, parking charges are there to make sure people do not use the car parks for commuting purposes or to access nearby bus or train stations. All of those issues need to be considered in the round but the Government plan is to bring in a cap on the fees.

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