Cavan General Hospital lifted almost €142,000 in car parking fees in 2023. The figure was revealed following a Freedom of Information request by Irish Country Living Magazine, which carried out similar research last year and in 2018.
The magazine says for rural people the average parking fee for one to four hours is €5. There was no figure for Monaghan Hospital, but according to the HSE website, parking costs €3 per stay there, while it costs €75 for non-medical card holders to attend the minor injury unit.
The research showed our other nearest hospital, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda lifted €484, 789 in revenue for the same period. The exact amount collected by Cavan General is €141,968.
The so-called "illness tax" has been a long-running source of vexation among the likes of cancer patients or people who have to regularly attend hospital appointments. Speaking to Northern Sound, Martin Maguire of Crocus Cancer Support based in Monaghan believes parking charges is one burden that cancer patients could do without (listen below):
