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 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. Patient advocacy groups argue that when you add the cost of fuel and snacks for the duration, a hospital is too expensive for many. When he was Minister for Health, Simon Harris said the government would cap the cost of hospital parking at €10 per day but, that still hasn't happened. Zoe Tunney spoke with Martin Maguire of Crocus Monaghan about this issue:
