The Health Service Executive spent almost €100 million on agency staff last year figures released by Fine Gael have revealed.
The party said the recruitment ban in the HSE has resulted in the spend on agency staff remaining “excessively high”.
According to the figures the executive spent €92million on agency staff such as temporary nursing staff and locum doctors in 2009. Beaumont Hospital in Dublin had the highest spend at almost €9 million with St James’s Hospital not far behind on €8.5 million.
Earlier today Minister for Health Mary Harney said cuts in health service funding for next year could be up to €1 billion. Under the Croke Park agreement the cuts will have to come from areas other than core pay to staff such as procurement, cutting services or perhaps staff overtime.
Fine Gael spokesman on health Dr James Reilly said the cost of employing agency staff must be reduced before the HSE cuts front line services.
Dr Reilly said agency staff cost hospitals more than 36 per cent than directly employing workers and that millions of euro could be saved by tackling the issue.
The figures were published following a parliamentary question tabled by Fine Gael’s John O’Mahony.