HSE spending increasing amount on overtime, figures show

Updated / Tuesday, 3 Nov 2026 11:23

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The HSE is spending an increasing amount on overtime for staff, new figures show.

From January 2022 to the end of August this year, acute hospital overtime expenditure was around €1.7 billion.

Most of the overtime is on medical and dental work, nursing, support services and administration.

Among the largest individual hospital overtime bills last year were: Beaumont Hospital (€30m), the Mater Hospital (€30m), Cork University Hospital (€30m), University Hospital Limerick (€30m) and St Vincent's University Hospital (€25m).

The data was secured through a parliamentary question from Sinn Féin's Spokesperson on Health David Cullinane.

Deputy Cullinane said the figures show the extraordinary pressure hospitals and hospital staff are under.

He said the overtime money is being spent at the same time that hospitals are struggling to get urgent and priority posts filled.

He said that doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers are being relied upon to work enormous levels of overtime to keep services running.

In 2022, the acute hospital overtime bill was €316m.

Last year, it rose to €393m.

"At the very same time, we effectively have a recruitment embargo by another name. Priority posts are not being filled," Deputy Cullinane added.