Patients will no longer have to worry about coughing up €80 to get seen in a hospital Emergency Department - or for other inpatient appointments - from next month.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly will head into Tuesday morning’s Cabinet meeting with the backing of all three Government parties, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Greens to abolish the fees after it was agreed in principle before the Budget.
It will cost the Exchequer €32million in a full calendar year, which, relatively speaking, is very little compared to the HSE’s massive annual budget of over €20billion.
Read More: Girl who claimed to be Maddie McCann says 'stay tuned' and boards mystery flight
A senior Government source gave the Mirror more detail.
He said: “Cabinet is set to sign off on the Health (Amendment) Bill 2023, which will abolish the statutory public inpatient charge, €80 per day, up to a maximum of €800 in a year.
“This new legislation will mean that people will no longer be charged when accessing public inpatient care in our public hospitals.
“The removal of these charges, announced as part of Budget 2023, is an important step towards reducing the healthcare costs of patients and families.
“This measure builds on the abolition of public inpatient charges for children under 16, which was introduced in September last year.
“Funding (€21 million) was provided in Budget 2023 to remove public in-patient hospital charges, which is an important step towards reducing the healthcare costs of patients and families.
“The estimated full year cost is up to €32m approximately.”
READ NEXT:
Ireland weather: 'Messy week' ahead with heavy snowfall confirmed and warnings in effect
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar tells RTE Prime Time further energy credit possible this year
Mystery solved as three bodies found in search for five people missing after night out
Katie Taylor sends Eddie Hearn public ultimatum over Dublin fight
Woman left with a 'myriad of complications' after travelling to Turkey for weight loss surgery
Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter
