Health investment calls as HSE nets over €600k in Mullingar Hospital parking fees

The HSE has taken in over €600,000 in car parking charges at Mullingar’s Midland Regional Hospital since 2021, new figures reveal.

According to documents released to Independent.ie under the Freedom of Information Act, over €630,000 was generated through parking receipts since January 2021 at the county Westmeath based facility.

Last year, parking fees resulted in over €200,000 being accrued with the largest turnover of more than €260,000 being recorded over the past 11 month period.

Those figures have led to calls for senior health chiefs to ensure any additional income brought about by car parking revenue is reinvested in local health services.

Local councillor and HSE Dublin-Mid Leinster Forum member, Hazel Smyth, said there was an onus on the HSE to ring-fence the six figure sum for the purposes of key infrastructural projects at the hospital.

“There is a need for an EV charger for both staff at the hospital and for the patients’ families and friends,” she said.

“It comes down to costs and there are submissions being made at the minute for a new acute unit at the hospital.”

Cllr Smyth alluded to how those calls were being made in the wake of a concerted fundraising initiative locally that resulted in the acquisition of a new MRI scanner for the hospital.

“With the MRI scanner a lot of that was done through crowdfunding whereas you would like to think if there is that money being raised through the car parking that it could be reinvested in the infrastructure that is required at the hospital.”

The Green Party local representative also called for “longer term arrangements” to be afforded to patients who avail of the hospital’s car parking facilities.

“I can understand where it is located they (HSE) have to make sure it is not being abused by people in terms of parking their car and then going elsewhere,” she said.

“If it is being used by the actual patients there should be some type of discount or some type of arrangements made where they can avail of a discount or where it is free of charge in emergency situations.”

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