Abolition of public in-patient charges for children under 16  welcomed in Carlow

Fianna Fáil TD for Carlow and party spokesperson on children, Jennifer Murnane O’Connor has welcomed the announcement by her party colleague and Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, that, with effect from Wednesday September 21, 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. 

Ministers announce new ‘Ready to Build’ Scheme for Carlow

Landmark reform of State Pension System welcomed in Carlow

Deputy Murnane O’Connor commented:

“Better access, together with affordability and improved quality are amongst Fianna Fail’s top priorities in healthcare. I am delighted that from today, children under 16 will no longer be charged when accessing public in-patient care as a patient in our public hospitals.

“This significant change to healthcare provision in Ireland 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 Fianna Fail in 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 I launched last week.”   

The Carlow TD concluded: “Fianna Fail’s goal in healthcare is to help ensure 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.”