Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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99. To ask the Minister for Health the total number of consultant posts being filled by agency staff in Letterkenny General Hospital; the total cost in 2014 to Letterkenny General Hospital of the agency paid consultants; if an allowance will be made in the Letterkenny General Hospital budget to reflect this situation; his plans to attract consultants to Letterkenny General Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36493/14]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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To date, there have been significant challenges in filling medical posts including Consultant posts at Letterkenny General Hospital. At present there are 7.5 WTE posts currently being filled by Agency Consultant Staff. Two of these posts commenced in August 2014. The cost of the remaining 5.5 WTE agency paid Consultants to Letterkenny General Hospital as at 31st July 2014 is €933k (January to July), inclusive of agency fees and VAT at 23%.

Consultants are only employed via agency when all other opportunities to recruit on payroll have been exhausted. As with all recruitment, all efforts to source suitable personnel on payroll continue to be exercised. The determination of the allocation of Budget for Letterkenny General Hospital will be a matter for HSE management to determine, taking account of all relevant factors including service delivery and staffing issues.