There's been a sharp increase in the number of adults waiting over eight months for a hospital procedure.
Almost 9,700 adults were waiting for over 8 months by the end of September - an increase of over 1,000 (11 per cent) in a single month.
The HSE says the trend is set to continue until at least the end of this year.
It's also reported a 42 per cent increase in its spending on agency staff - despite a slight increase in the number of people working for the HSE itself.
Agency staff passed €250 million for the eight months to September - well ahead of the €171 million in the same period for 2013.
