The Irish Patients Association (IPA) broadly welcomed the announcement on Wednesday but sought assurances that moves to scrap inpatient fees would not have a knock-on effect for operational funding in hospitals. “It’s especially welcome considering the way inflation has gone now [and affected] families,” said IPA director Stephen McMahon. “In an awful lot of these cases it is people on low, middle incomes that are being [hit] by those charges so that’s welcome. “But in the end nothing is for nothing so it’s important that the hospitals are reimbursed for whatever the amount of money it was that they would have been collecting out of these charges, that they’re not penalised.” Mr McMahon also said similar concessions should be introduced for adults attending hospitals.