'Unacceptable and unsustainable': Fury as €28.8m spent on private agency staff at Kilkenny hospital

Local TD Natasha Newsome Drennan has strongly criticised the HSE after figures revealed €28.8 million was spent on private agency staffing at St Luke’s Hospital since 2023.

The Sinn Féin TD has described the HSE’s over-reliance on outsourced staff as ‘unacceptable and completely unsustainable’. Her comments come as figures released to Sinn Féin, show €28.8 million was spent on private agency staffing at St Luke’s in Kilkenny since 2023. A total of €725 million was spent across the State last year, a 33% increase since 2021.

“It is completely unacceptable that HSE spending on outsourced staffing continues to spiral upwards,” said Deputy Newsome Drennan.

“It is staggering that €28.8 million was spent on agency staff in St Luke’s Hospital since 2023. It is shocking that over €12 million was spent on agency staff at St Luke’s, Kilkenny in 2024 alone. That a 61% increase since 2021.
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“Across the State, over €725 million was spent on agency staffing in 2024 and the spend has not slowed in 2025. Since 2021, the HSE has forked out €2.9 billion on private agency staffing, which comes at a premium cost. It is incredible that the HSE could consider this wasteful spending to be sustainable.

The South Kilkenny-based TD said that wasteful over-reliance on agency spending has long been an area identified as an area where real savings can be made. Yet, year-on-year increases were still being seen, despite the Government’s health productivity and savings taskforce.

“This spike comes at the same time and, in my view, is directly related to the government’s arbitrary recruitment limits under the pay and numbers strategy,” she said. “These staff are needed to provide essential services, but they cannot be recruited directly, so the HSE is paying a premium price for agency workers instead.

“The health service needs an ambitious and realistic workforce plan to directly train, recruit, and retain the workers needed to safely staff the health service, and strict targets to significantly reduce runaway agency spending.

“That is what Sinn Féin proposed in our health plan, and it is what we will propose again in our alternative budget because the problems in the health service will never be addressed without a serious multi-annual plan that is fully thought-through.

“Successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments have failed to produce any comprehensive plan to address this. Instead, they are limping year-to-year with pretend plans that lack any long-term vision. The productivity taskforce and the pay and number strategy are merely sticking-plaster solutions that have not worked."

The HSE issued a repsonse to the comments as follows: 
"The availability of health workforce supply in the labour market continues to pose a significant challenge. This issue is not unique to Ireland but reflects a global shortage across the health sector. Recruitment and retention of clinical nursing staff and other key roles remain ongoing concerns, which impact the delivery of safe and effective services.

"To address service delivery needs where direct employment is insufficient, the HSE utilises agency staff. This may be required for a range of reasons, including covering short and long-term sick leave, maternity leave, and vacancies currently under active recruitment. There are also additional resourcing requirements with the replacement of lost hours in critical services areas following the reversal of the Haddington Road Agreement.

"We are also experiencing higher presentations by people needing care and treatment at our hospital and increased complexity of care needs including the requirement for 1:1 specialising for many patients. We are recording and tracking agency usage to improve transparency and support better workforce planning."