Department of Health does not know how much ‘staff bank’ will save HSEThe Department of Health does not know how much money will be saved by the introduction of a HSE ‘staff bank’ to replace the use of outside agencies in filling workforce gapsWith spending on agency staffing soaring across public and voluntary hospitals in recent years, in June Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill outlined plans to establish a HSE staff bank from which health services would source temporary staff in the future. However, in a statement to IMT, a Department of Health spokesperson said: “It is not possible to attribute a specific proportion of the targeted agency savings to the staff bank initiative alone.” The spokesperson went on to say that agency spend across HSE was €817 million in 2025. “The development of staff banks is one of a number of measures being implemented to reduce reliance on agency staffing,” they added. A HSE spokesperson said: “Staff banks have been a feature across the health services for a number of years and the HSE is working with all the relevant stakeholders to further develop the staff bank model for the provision of an in-house mobile workforce as a priority.”