Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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907. To ask the Minister for Health if hospitals will receive sufficient funding in budget 2020 to ensure they do not charge for parking for patients or visitors to the hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19513/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Hospitals which charge parking fees are cognisant of the financial implications parking costs can have on patients and their families, particularly those with long-term illnesses. Some hospitals have introduced a maximum daily fixed parking charge, thus capping this expense. I understand that some hospitals also provide reduced rate parking for long-term patients and visitors for whom the payment of the full rate would cause hardship.

In March 2018, I requested the HSE to carry out a review of hospital car parking charges, with the aim of establishing clear national guidelines in this area.

The HSE report on Hospital Car Parking Charges has been submitted to the Department of Health and is currently under consideration in collaboration with the HSE. The report will be published in due course.

Any consideration of funding for the provision of car parking will have to be considered in the context of service prioritisation and with regard to competing priorities for resources available as part of the 2020 Estimates process.