The Health Act 1970 (as amended) provides that all people ordinarily resident in the country are entitled, subject to certain charges, to public in-patient hospital services including consultant services and to public out-patient hospital services. Under the Health (Amendment) Act 2013, a person who has been referred to a hospital for an in-patient service, including that provided on a day case basis, will have to pay the statutory daily charge, currently €80 per day, up to a maximum of €800 per year. Such charges do not apply to medical card holders.
On this basis, where treatment for cancer is classed as a day case procedure and is not carried out in an out-patient setting, the public in-patient charge applies.