Local Fianna Fáil Deputy, Robert Troy, has welcomed confirmation from his party colleague and Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, that public in-patient charges for children under 16 years have been abolished in all public hospitals.
The Health (Miscellaneous Provisions ) (No.2 ) Act 2022 removes the acute public in-patient charge of €80 per day (including day-case charges ) for children under 16 years of age in all public hospitals. Following enactment of the legislation before the summer recess, the Minister for Health signed the Commencement Order providing for the removal of charges from today.
“Abolishing acute in-patient hospital charges for children under 16 is focused towards easing the financial burden of parents or guardians when bringing their child to hospital for in-patient care.“In the context of current cost-of-living challenges this is another important commitment by Government towards affordability, as it will make our public hospitals free for children when they require access to treatment as a public patient.
“This initiative builds on the introduction of free contraception for women aged 17-25 that Minister Donnelly launched last week. Fianna Fáil in Government is focused on ensuring that care is accessible and affordable and that cost is not a significant consideration when people need access to in-patient treatment and healthcare more generally,” Deputy Troy stated.
