Keith Swanick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Helen McEntee, for coming to the House. I want to ask for a review of parking charges at HSE hospitals across the country to ensure low-cost parking is available to patients and visitors to the public hospital system. I also want to ask if any single organisation has a contract with the HSE to charge for parking and-or clamping on hospital grounds. Will the Minister of State inform us of the cost of such contracts and make a statement on the matter?

I spoke about this in a different context prior to getting elected to the Seanad in my role as secretary of the National Association of General Practitioners. I felt many patients were attending hospitals unnecessarily for investigations that could happen in the community. Various investigations into hospital car parking fees have shown a severe lack of consistency in the rates being charged across the country. To give some examples, there is a charge of €3 per hour at the Mater Hospital, with a maximum charge of €15 per day; it is €2.70 per hour at Cork University Hospital, with a maximum charge of €15 per day; it is €2 per hour at University Hospital Galway, with a €9 daily rate and a rate of €30 for one week; and at Kerry Hospital, the first 20 minutes is free, 20 minutes to one hour is €3 and there is a €12 daily rate.

As the House can see, due to the lack of regulation, there are vast differences across the State. Going by the above figures, the average daily rate is €10 or €70 per week. This is a lot of money for many families and particularly for long-term patients. I appreciate that many hospitals have special consideration for people who require longer-term parking but there are also many instances where hospitals are not identifying people in need of special discounts.

This unpopular charge is generating millions of euro of income for hospitals. For example, Cork University Hospital was the highest earner, collecting over €2.8 million last year from car park fees, working out at an average of €8,000 per day, University Hospital Waterford collected €1.48 million, Wexford Hospital collected €700,000 and Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children collected €349,000. These fees are causing increased distress to the sick and their relatives and are an active deterrent to people visiting hospitals. Those who have long-term illnesses may need to spend several hours in a car park, and it is, in effect, a tax on a sick person. There are certain hospitals which add to the distress by imposing clamping fees but the release charge also varies and can be as high as €120 in some hospitals.My colleagues throughout the country have brought this up time and again. For example, Councillor Norma Foley, a Fianna Fáil councillor in Kerry, has said it is no longer simply an issue for the people visiting the hospital, but one for the entire community surrounding the hospital. In housing estates in the vicinity of the hospitals residents are struggling to get parking at their houses as a result of the area being overrun with traffic. There is a knock-on impact as a result of the fees.

Some people have tried to justify the charges with the argument that they are necessary to deter motorists who are working or shopping from using the car parks for free at the expense of spaces for patients and visitors. If this is the case, then the costs should be nominal. Could we consider a flat nominal nationwide fee? Could we have a barcode system whereby if a patient receives an outpatient appointment, at the bottom of the letter a barcode could facilitate access to a car park and give the patient two or three hours of free parking while attending the hospital.