High cost of agency staff unacceptable says HSE management
Agency staff currently work across health services, between the Sacred Heart Hospital, Castlebar, Mayo University Hospital and also in Primary Care, Mental Health Services, Older Persons Services and Disability Services.
The high cost being paid out by the HSE on agency staff is unacceptable in terms of the impact on budget and annual expenditure and measures are being taken to reduce the spend. That’s according to the HSE’s own management, responding to a query from Cllr Michael Kilcoyne on the matter at the March meeting of HSE West Northwest on Tuesday last.
Providing some background, Mary Warde, Mayo Health Manager, stated that on occasion, there is a need for agency staff to cover short term and often unplanned need.
“This flexibility allows each of the services to maintain operational continuity,” said Ms Warde. “A small percentage of agency workers are used for full-time cover, and this is typically due to ongoing skill shortages, project-based work, or the need for specialised expertise that isn’t readily available in the permanent workforce. Where agency staff are employed across our services this is in accordance with the Public Service Agreements.”
Pointing out it is HSE policy to use directly employed permanent staffing as opposed to agency staffing, in accordance with the Public Service Agreement 2024–2026, she confirmed that in Mayo, agency staff currently work across health services, between the Sacred Heart Hospital, Castlebar, Mayo University Hospital and also in Primary Care, Mental Health Services, Older Persons Services and Disability Services.
Following the disclosure of costs of over €17 million spent on agency staff in Galway University Hospital in 2025, Integrated Area Health Manager Ann Cosgrove also told the forum that agency costs are unacceptable, saying: “We use every avenue to recruit but there is a level of agency for short term and shift and leave cover in order to maintain rosters, also for surge accommodation when the hospital is in escalation and we have to staff areas that would normally be open for day services to overnight services.
“We know our agency costs are unacceptable for the impact on our budget and the annual expenditure, so we are looking at a number of avenues with HR to convert agency across the system. That includes from ED and right across the hospitals. It is an issue for us. It isn’t acceptable, we know we need to reduce it and are working on it, but it will take a bit of time.”
