€1.2 million 'wasted' on outsourcing as HSE fails to invest in lab capacity

Sinn Féin Councillor Jack Murray has sharply criticised the ongoing waste of public funds due to outsourcing blood tests at Letterkenny University Hospital (LUH), stating that the HSE’s failure to invest in additional laboratory space is costing the taxpayer dearly.

Cllr Murray was responding to figures provided in a Parliamentary Question submitted by Deputy Pearse Doherty, which revealed that LUH has spent €1.2 million outsourcing just 5.5% of its GP blood test workload from March 2024 to March 2025. In contrast, internal estimates show that this same volume of testing could be processed in-house for just €105,000 – a staggering cost difference.

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“It is completely unacceptable that the HSE continues to outsource vital health services at a premium when we know that the same work could be done internally for a fraction of the cost. 

"The only thing preventing this is the lack of space to install a third line of analysers at the hospital - a problem they’ve known about for years.”

"Since 2019, the volume of blood tests processed at LUH has increased by 78%, placing unsustainable pressure on existing staff and equipment. The analysts are now operating from early morning until 2am, with staff reporting burnout and capacity limitations. Despite this, the necessary extension to accommodate additional equipment has not progressed beyond bureaucratic form-filling. This is a failure of planning, of investment, and of basic accountability.

"Instead of paying private companies €1.2 million for a tiny portion of testing, the HSE should fast-track capital investment in laboratory space. That’s the smart thing to do financially, and it’s the right thing to do for patient care. The people of Donegal deserve a properly resourced, publicly run health service. This level of inefficiency and delay is simply not good enough.”