This article first appeared on Galway Bay FM

More than 23 million euro was spent on private agency staffing between UHG and Portiuncula Hospital last year.

13.5 million euro was spent on agency staff at University Hospital Galway, while more than 9.5 million was spent at Portiuncula in Ballinasloe.

The figures released to Sinn Féin show that nationally €725m has been spent in the past four years.

Galway East TD Louis O’Hara claims the HSE is over-reliant on ‘costly outsourced staff’, and says 2024’s Galway spend is an 85 percent increase since 2021.

Deputy O’Hara says the spending is wasteful and unsustainable