SINN FÉIN HAS called for the abolition of hospital car parking charges as new figures reveal revenues of €17.8 million last year.

This is an increase of just over 140% when compared to hospital car parking income generated in 2021.

Not all hospitals charge for parking, but among those that do, Cork University Hospital took in the most last year, at around €2.72 million.

This was followed by St James Hospital on around €1.92 million, Beaumont Hospital on €1.45 million, and University Hospital Limerick on €1.44 million.

Sinn Féin’s health spokesperson David Cullinane has called for a funded plan to phase out the charges, adding that “patients and families should not be charged simply because they need healthcare”.

The figures were provided by the HSE in response to a parliamentary question from Cullinane.

It shows that hospital car parking income increased from €7.39 million in 2021 to €17.76 million in 2025, just over a 140% increase.

“Hospital car parking charges are a charge on being sick and visiting families and friends in hospital,” said Cullinane.

“No one chooses to be sick or to have a sick child in hospital. Yet patients and families are being asked to pay these charges again and again.”

He added that people with disabilities and carers are “also being hit”.

Cullinane also noted that the revenues raised through hospital parking has “increased dramatically”.

“Hospitals should not have to depend on money collected from sick people and their families,” said Cullinane.

He called for a “funded plan to phase these charges out”.

“The Government should provide replacement funding as charges are phased out,” said Cullinane, “while ensuring hospital parking remains available for patients and visitors.”

HSE response

In a statement to Cullinane, the HSE said that hospitals introduced car parking charges over the past decade to “recover the costs associated with providing and maintaining parking facilities, without placing additional pressure on budgets allocated to patient services”.

“As demand for the hospital parking has increased, so too have the associated costs,” said the HSE.

It said these costs include initial capital expenditure for the acquisition or leasing of parking areas, the development of additional parking capacity, the provision and enhancement of security systems, staffing requirements and the ongoing maintenance of car parking facilities.

There is no single national contract in place for the provision of car parking across hospitals with the HSE.

Instead, individual hospitals operate under local arrangements.

In some instances, hospitals engage third-party providers to manage car park operations, while ownership of the facilities remains with the hospital.

While in other cases, external providers may be contracted to service parking infrastructure, including meters, entry and exit barriers and security systems.

The HSE said that “if car parking charges were removed, the associated income would be lost” and that there could be “additional financial implications”.

“For example, some hospital car parks are managed by private operators, and there could be contractual costs or penalties associated with amending or terminating these arrangements,” said the HSE.