140% increase in parking charges recorded at St Luke’s hospital

CAR parking income at St Luke’s Hospital, Kilkenny rose from €190,656 in 2021 to €461,145 in 2025, which is a 142% increase. These figures were provided by the HSE in response to a parliamentary question by Sinn Féin Waterford TD David Cullinane.

Currently, parking at St Luke’s is capped at €4 a day, with the first half-an-hour free. Unlike some other hospitals around the country, the hospital itself runs the car park rather than using an outside private operator. This means that all the money generated from car park goes back into the hospital.

Statewide, income from hospital car parks has more than doubled in the last five years as income increased from €7.39 million in 2021 to €17.76 million in 2025. This dramatic rise comes despite a commitment in the Programme for Government last year to ‘explore further ways to reduce hospital car parking charges.’ In response to Mr Cullinane’s parliamentary question, Sarah Anderson, the HSE finance manager, said: "Hospitals have 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 hospital parking has increased, so, too, have the associated costs. These 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," she wrote.

Nikki Gallagher, CEO of the Irish Cancer Society, reiterated the charity’s call for hospitals to waive parking charges for cancer patients.

"Hospital car parking charges place a significant financial burden on cancer patients and their loved ones. In certain hospitals, patients can pay up to €300 per month on car parking alone just to access their life-saving cancer treatment," she said.