Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I have a question on agency nurses, to pick up on a point made earlier. Mr. Mulvany said people making themselves available as agency nurses are perhaps not making themselves available to be directly employed. The HSE pays the agency a fee. Has any work been done on the amount paid to the nurse? Is it known? Obviously it varies from agency to agency. To what extent has the lower rate of pay in the more recent recruitment been a factor in people opting for agencies as opposed to being directly employed?