19 August 2026
By Elaine Murphy
Elaine@TheCork.ie
Sinn Féin TD for Cork South Central, Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, has called for a funded plan to phase out hospital car parking charges, saying patients and families should not be charged simply because they need healthcare.
Funded plan means the state would replace the income to the Hospital via some other means.
Figures provided by the HSE in response to a Parliamentary Question by Sinn Féin’s Spokesperson on Health, David Cullinane TD, show that hospital car parking income at Cork University Hospital rose from €1,349,149 in 2021 to €2,715,130 in 2025 – a 101% increase. Statewide, income increased from €7.39 million in 2021 to €17.76 million in 2025.
Ó Laoghaire TD said:
“Income from hospital car parking fees at Cork University Hospital rose from €1,349,149 in 2021 to €2,715,130 in 2025 – a 101% increase.
“Hospital car parking charges are a charge on being sick and visiting families and friends in hospital.
“No one chooses to be sick or to have a sick child in hospital. Yet patients and families in Cork are being asked to pay these charges again and again.
“People with disabilities, carers and families visiting loved ones in hospital are also being hit.
“The amount being raised through hospital parking has increased dramatically. Hospitals should not have to depend on money collected from sick people and their families.
“We need a funded plan to phase these charges out. The Government should provide replacement funding as charges are phased out, while ensuring hospital parking remains available for patients and visitors.”
File photo of TD