The Health Service Executive spent almost its entire agency staff budget in the first five months of the year.

Figures released by the HSE show 82 per cent of the €165 million it was allocated was used by the end of May.

The HSE employs agency and contract staff for a range of roles in the health sector, including doctors and nurses.

Fianna Fáil's spokesman on health Billy Kelleher said this was an extremely large portion to have been accessed in a small period.

“The HSE is clearly burning through cash to try to keep the health service ticking over. This highlights the fact that the budget for the health service is just not grounded in reality,” he said.

“If we’re at this point now I have very real concerns about the winter months ahead.”

The HSE’s annual plan allocated €164.94 million for agency staff in 2015; €138.2 million was spent by the end of May.

A spokesman for the HSE said expenditure in May 2015 was 9.3 per cent lower than in May 2014. He said the use of agency staff was closely monitored and only used to avoid the disruption of services.

The spokesman added: “The HSE has in place robust processes to ensure all possible staffing options are considered prior to the use of agency staff ensuring that standards of safety and quality care for patients are met.”

Staff retention

However, Mr Kelleher said this highlighted the acute difficulties in the health system.

He said the greatest pressure the service is facing is its failure to attract and retain workers. "The Government has presided over a decline in the stature of the health service and people don't see it as a viable career option." Mr Kelleher said it also exposed flaws in the HSE's budgetary process. It has been reported that the agency is looking for another €1.9 billion in budget talks. The Fianna Fáil TD questioned if the HSE's budget plans were as realistic as presented by the Minister for Health Leo Varadkar.