The HSE received over €5.2m in income from its public hospital car parks last year.

Figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act, show that nearly €1.3m was collected at Cork University Hospital.

They show that the total income from parking and clamping charges in 23 HSE hospitals last year was just over €5.2m.

Sinn Féin health spokesman, David Cullinane, told Newstalk that the charges should be abolished.

“We feel that it adds to the burden on people who are sick; who are patients going to hospital and being treated in hospital and we know that some people, because of the illness they have, have to attend hospital several times a day and obviously the cost of carparking can add to the cost of being sick.

“For all of those reasons, we believe that car parking charges should be abolished in hospitals.”

He said the Government should offer hospitals a subvention to make up for the shortfall in income.

“Many campaign groups including the Irish Cancer Society and many more have for a long number of years, called for these charges to be abolished and for car parking at public hospitals to be free,” he said.

“That is what I want to see happen and I think the only way to make that happen is to give a subvention to hospitals for the carparking to make up the shortfall.”

The highest was the €1.291m collected at Cork University Hospital.

University College Hospital Galway was the next highest, at €630,000.

Meanwhile, €469,000 was taken in at Waterford Regional Hospital.

A total of six other hospitals also collected over €200,000 in car parking charges last year.