State takeover of private hospitals costs €300m for three months

Liam Woods, national director of acute services at the HSE

The State's agreement to take over private hospitals will cost around €300 million for three months.

The deal, which saw the State take over the operations of 19 hospitals for the duration of the Covid-19 emergency, was estimated to be costing the exchequer €115 million a month. However, the Oireachtas Special Committee on Covid-19 heard that the cost will be lower.