The hiring of agency staff by the HSE in Cork and Kerry to fill administration posts at Covid-19 centres cost up to 66 per cent more than if someone had been hired directly to fill the same vacancy, according to an audit report.
HSE auditors also found that no competitive process was undertaken by 10 of the 11 locations in the region reviewed for the supply of administrative agency staff by the top five highest paid recruitment agencies.
Overall, an internal audit by HSE officials found “limited” levels of assurance that the procurement and payment of agency staff for clerical, administrative and management positions in Cork and Kerry were compliant with National Financial Regulations set by the HSE.
It revealed that over €11 million was spent on agency staff by the HSE in the two counties in 2021 with a further €6.8 million spent in the first nine months of 2022.
The HSE acknowledged that it employs staff through employment agencies on a short-term, temporary basis where roles cannot be filled by traditional recruitment methods.
It also accepted that while it has a national framework agreement for certain staff provided by agencies including doctors, nurses and healthcare assistants,…
