Car parking situation for patients and staff at hospital is worsening

The car parking situation for patients and staff at Roscommon University Hospital is worsening, a HSE Regional Health Forum was told last week.

Independent Roscommon councillor Emer Kelly asked the HSE for an update and timeline on the parking situation at the hospital. She said that this is a worsening issue for both staff and service users.

Roscommon County Council is completing work to make the county town an Age Friendly town, she added, and the parking at RUH has been identified as an issue again.

In the written response, integrated health area manager for Galway Roscommon, Ann Cosgrove said that the range of services offered, staffing, and activity levels have all increased year on year at the hospital.

“Unfortunately, this has contributed to pressure on car parking capacity,” Ms Cosgrove said. “We understand the challenge this presents to some staff and patients. There have been a number of off-site parking options explored within Roscommon Town, however, no arrangements have been agreed to date. A spatial plan for the whole RUH campus is being developed in conjunction with HSE Estates and a design team.” The HSE acknowledged that additional car parking for the site is a key part of the plan and has been prioritised.

“Health planners have recently been appointed to support the development and delivery of the spatial plan. They were on site on July 30th, 2025 to get their work underway. It is anticipated this will be a 20–26-week process,” the response continued. 

“Currently we are submitting a wide range of data and information to them to support the process. The hospital does not charge for parking on any part of the campus. We also have the support of our security officer who meets and greets patients and travelling companions at the set down area immediately adjacent to the urgent care centre building. Patients can be dropped off there or accompanied into the hospital to register or go to their appointment.” 

It added that RUH uses approximately 75 spaces of public parking at the nearby Hyde Park GAA Pitch, and that this is full on most days.

“We are currently working with the Age Friendly committee and will be conducting a mobility audit, in order to try to secure Age Friendly accreditation for the site. This may identify opportunities to make the campus more accessible.” 

Speaking at the forum, Cllr Kelly said it was a recurring issue being brought up at council level and she asked for a timeline on when additional spaces will be added.

Ms Cosgrove said extra carparking would not be added within the next year at a minimum.

“They will probably be associated with another project that will be happening on the site,” she said.

She added that the HSE has tried to ensure that the spaces closest to the hospital are maintained for members of the public accessing the hospital.

“We have explored off-site parking to see if we can move staff parking off site. But we have not come up with any viable option at this point,” she said. She added that the HSE recognised it is a significant issue and that it would continue to seek a solution.

“It is a priority for us, but we are not going to have it in the short term. It would be pointless for us to say otherwise.”