Galway University Hospitals collected just under €1.5 million in parking fees in 2017.
The HSE released information on how much hospitals around Ireland gathered in parking fees in response to a parliamentary question from Sinn Féin health spokesperson Louise O’Reilly.
University Hospital Galway and Merlin Park Hospital, which together make up GUH, collected €1,449,902 in 2017, the fourth highest amount in Ireland.
Portiuncula University Hospital in Ballinasloe collected €166,820 more from parking.
All told, more than €22 million is spent by members of the public on parking at Irish hospital each year.
The biggest money maker was Cork University Hospital which collected €3.1 million in 2017.
Deputy O’Reilly said that parking charges should be abolished for sick patients coming to hospital for treatment.
“Charges for car parking at hospitals are a charge on people who are unwell and levied on them because solely because they are sick.”
The Irish Cancer Society have said that cancer patients are paying up to €63 a week in car parking fees.
Portiuncula Hospital is one of five which provides free parking for cancer patients coming for treatment.
“Patients have told us that they simply can’t manage the cost of parking on top of other expenses they face as they battle their illness,” Louise O’Reilly said.
Last November the HSE and Health Minister Simon Harris promised to cap hospital parking fees at €10 a day, however multiple hospitals are still charging more than that.
