Irish medical staff are being assaulted by patients to such an extent that on average, once every three days a staff member has to take weeks off work, costing the taxpayer €1.5m a year.

Almost 10,000 people received specialist treatment for drug, alcohol and other substance abuse problems in the first three months of the year — including 18 children and teens.

-9,000 children, teens in system have no dedicated social worker

Two of Ireland’s largest hospitals spent more than €8m on junior doctor overtime last year — the equivalent of €22,000 a day.

Junior doctors have warned the HSE they will be forced to take strike action from as soon as Sept 17 unless drastic steps are made to reduce their excessive working hours.

A potential junior doctors’ strike that could cripple the hospital system is looming as a direct result of the excessive and “dangerous” length of shifts the medics are forced to work.

HSE staff have been told to make do with basic supports instead of specialist training on how to run a new €100,000 IT system as a direct result of controversial cost-cutting plans.

Under-pressure junior doctors at one of Ireland’s busiest hospitals worked 120,000 hours of overtime in the second half of 2012 — costing the taxpayer €4.39m.

Public hospitals have spent over €3.2m on debt collectors to hunt down failed patient payments in just seven years.

Embattled Health Minister James Reilly was last night accused of desperately trying to duck the blame for his embarrassing cuts climbdown.

Firefighters in Dublin have been punched, kicked, and even threatened with guns while on call-outs, with figures showing almost 150 incidents of violence and abuse since the start of 2010.

A leading public hospital has warned it will no longer carry out blood tests for GPs or send staff payslips in the post in an attempt to save frontline services from budget cuts.

Four Irish people every week seek advice on how to help a loved one end their life from an international group campaigning for the legalisation of assisted suicide.

Three out of four GPs are in favour of “limited abortion” becoming legal in Ireland, while medical opinion on whether travelling abroad for the procedure risks a woman’s health is now split 40:60.

Negligence claims cost the HSE a massive €81m in taxpayers’ money last year — with €32m going on legal fees for those defending the state organisation.

A surgeon who left the HSE last December is being flown back from the Czech Republic to work two days every fortnight and being given free accommodation — all at the taxpayers’ expense.

THE HSE spent a massive €26 million on locum doctors to fill chronic staff shortages across public hospitals in the first half of this year.

THE HSE spent over €113,000 of taxpayers’ money to send 36 officials to India and Pakistan during a 10-day search for new doctors from the region.

ROSES are red, violets are blue, they all cost money, and — according to previously hidden Government figures — they’re all paid for by you.