Call for free hospital parking for long-term and seriously ill patients

BALLINROBE Fine Gael Councillor Michael Burke has called on Minister Stephen Donnelly to introduce a system where patients suffering from long-term or serious illness would receive free parking while in hospital for treatment.

Currently for a patient visiting Mayo University Hospital in Castlebar for five weekly treatments over four weeks, purchasing weekly tickets will cost them €60.

The same situation in University Hospital Galway, he said, will cost a patient €90, buying the cheapest possible ticket.

Said Councillor Burke: “This is a charge on top of the stress of the illness they have to carry.

“It’s long past time that these patients deserve a bit of compassion.”