People attending hospital, or visiting patients, should not have to pay for parking People Before Profit have said.
PBP called for the abolition of these hospital charges after it was reported that the HSE took in millions in parking fees last year, with Galway being the second highest earner in the country.
Newstalk reported that Galway University Hospital earned €657,000 in parking charges last year, which was higher than in 2020.
Adrian Curran, People Before Profit representative for Galway said, “The HSE made over €5.1 million from the car parks of public hospitals around the country last year.
“The average revenue was €244,000 per hospital. The car parks at UHG were the second highest earner, bringing in €657,000.”
He said that parking charges should be abolished for patients and visitors, calling them an “unjust tax” under another name.
“People who are sick have no choice but to attend a hospital. Their recovery is helped by visits from friends and relatives.”
“Why in this difficult time should people be forced to pay for the unfortunate fact that they must visit a hospital?”
