David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Another area that causes some people concern is the increase in agency spend. Again, I will give examples in University Hospital Waterford because I have those figures. In 2012, the total agency spend by the hospital was €1,648,000, in 2013 it was €3,597,000, and in 2014 it was €6,289,000. It reduced slightly in 2015 to €5,145,000 but went back up close to €6 million in 2016. Therefore, agency spend was approximately €1.6 million and increased to almost €6 million, which is a significant increase. Is it costing taxpayers more to hire agency staff as opposed to direct employment in the public service?