Westmeath TD wants car parking charges scrapped at Mullingar hospital

Calling for a funded plan to scrap car parking charges at Mullingar Regional Hospital, Sorca Clarke, Sinn Féin TD for Longford-Westmeath, has said that patients and families should not be charged simply because they need healthcare.

In response to a parliamentary question raised by Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on health, David Cullinane TD, HSE provided figures which show that hospital car parking income at Mullingar Regional Hospital rose from €161,194 in 2021 to €302,104 in 2025 – an 87% increase. Statewide, income increased from €7.39 million in 2021 to €17.76 million in 2025.

Citing the same, Deputy Clarke said: “Income from hospital car parking fees at Mullingar Regional Hospital rose from €161,194 in 2021 to €302,104 in 2025 – an 87% 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 Longford-Westmeath and across the Midlands are being asked to pay these charges again and again.”

She added: “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.”