‘Tens of millions paid out to private hospitals while Letterkenny remains in crisis’
With the controversy growing over the crisis in surgical care at Letterkenny University Hospital, with growing demands for a Surgical Hub to be located at the hospital, Donegal Sinn Féin TD Pádraig Mac Lochlainn has revealed the sum of outsourcing of waiting list elective in-patient and day-case surgeries
Almost €29 million was paid out to private hospitals in just two years (2023 and 2024) via the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF).
With the controversy growing over the crisis in surgical care at Letterkenny University Hospital, with growing demands for a Surgical Hub to be located at the hospital, Donegal Sinn Féin TD Pádraig Mac Lochlainn has revealed the sum of outsourcing of waiting list elective in-patient and day-case surgeries at Letterkenny University Hospital.
The amount of money paid to private hospitals via the NTPF for the outsourcing of waiting list elective in-patient and day-case surgeries at Letterkenny University Hospital has seen a significant increase over recent years.
In 2020, €1,081,165 was paid to private hospitals under this scheme. The following year, 2021, saw payments rise to €2,375,546. This upward trend continued in 2022, with €4,766,792 allocated for outsourced procedures. In 2023, the amount increased substantially to €13,270,927. The most recent full-year figure available, for 2024, shows that €15,692,429 was paid to private hospitals. For the current year, 2025, year-to-date payments stand at €5,259,722.
"These figures that I have received say it all,” Deputy Mac Lochlainn said. “There is a severe crisis in surgical care at Letterkenny University Hospital that threatens the ability of the hospital to operate an Emergency Department in the near future. This crisis is due to years of neglect and the systematic underfunding of our major hospital in Donegal.
“Rather than investing in a Surgical Hub at Letterkenny that would reduce our long waiting lists and attract the surgeons, doctors and nurses that we need, our government has handed almost €29 million to private hospitals to carry out procedures on Donegal patients that should be carried out in Donegal. In 2023, they handed over €13,270,927 and in 2024, that amount increased to €15,692,429. In 2020, the amount paid out was €1,081,165, so these increases in recent years are astonishing".
"We are tired of the neglect of Letterkenny University Hospital. We are tired of money that should be invested in our public hospital being handed away to private hospitals and other private providers. These figures are further evidence of why we must have a Surgical Hub at Letterkenny".