40
2024
Sector Overviews
Medical Locum
“Independent pharmacy contractors should not be taxed as if they were employees, but without any of the company benefits and security of work. I find the government policy baffling.”
Quote from Respondent
A critical shortage of General Practitioners (GPs) and consultants continues. The situation was further exacerbated by the HSE’s controversial recruitment freeze, which the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) criticised in their January 2024 report. This policy resulted in overworked doctors, increased waiting times, and a rise in emigration of skilled medical professionals seeking better working conditions abroad. However, the rise of medical locums offered a vital lifeline.
Locum doctors who fill temporary roles are helping to bridge staffing gaps and ensure some level of continuity in patient care. Locums benefit both doctors, who gain schedule flexibility, and patients, who experience reduced wait times and disruptions.
Gender Split
The gender profile in the Medical Locum sector has changed significantly over the past 4 years with 43% of all contractors now working in the medical locum sector being female, compare this to a figure of only 24% in 2021. This is an increase representation of women in the sector by 19% over 4 years. 61% of medical locums operate in the private sector with 39% working in the public sector.
Age
The average age of a medical locum contractor is 40 years, eight years younger than the average age of all contractors. The age profile in the medical sector has changed dramatically since 2023. In 2023, there were no contractors 29 years or younger this has increased to 21% in 2024. 58% of contractors in the sector are now under 40 years, as opposed to 37% in 2023. There has been a dramatic reduction in the percentage of contractors between 40- 49, from 47% in 2023 to just 18% in 2024. 6% of medical locum contractors were 60 years or older.
Average Age
42
2023
46
2022
41
2021
Daily Rates By Year
The 2024 average daily rate is €522, down from €700 in 2023, which reflects the increased numbers of much younger contractors and females in the medical locum sector. In 2024, 40% of medical locum contractors have an average daily rate between €500 and €699 and 20% have an average daily rate under €399. In 2023, 15% of contractors earned an average daily rate between €700 and €999, however in 2024 no contractors fell into this category. There was also a significant reduction in the number of medical locum contractors earning an average daily rate over €1,000, this fell from 15% in 2023 to 7% in 2024.
€522
Euro
Average Daily Rate
40
Years
Average Age
6
Months
Average Contract Length
Contract Length
75% of contracts have an average contract length of 6 months or less, this is a big shift since the 2023 report when 25% of contracts were for 6 months or less. In 2023, 50% of all contracts were between 7 and 12 months, whereas in 2024 only 14% of contracts are between 7 and 12 months. No contracts in 2024 were 24 months or longer.
Average Contract Length Over The Years
6
Months
2024
21
Months
2023
34
Months
2022
8
Months
2021
Employability
Medical locums are confident that their experience is in demand on the labour market, with 87% of respondents in agreement with that statement. 80% of respondents also agree that it would be easy for them to find another contract.
How Medical Locums Feel About Their Work
Medical Locums have the highest satisfaction score when compared to contractors in all other industries about the work itself with a rating of 97%. The 2024 satisfaction scores have increased across all 7 factors that they were asked to rate when compared to 2023 figures. The work itself, the flexibility of hours, and their current life in general, achieved satisfaction scores higher than achieved in any other year since the research began in 2021. As many of them need to go to a hospital or practice to work it is no surprise that they have a low satisfaction rating for remote working options, with just 35% of respondents saying they were satisfied.
Future Expectations
Respondents agreed that their expertise were in demand and that they could easily find another contract, 40% of participants agreed that the contracting sector in the next 3-5 years would increase. 33% of respondents also think that the Irish economy will perform better in 2024 compared with 2023.
Confidence Index
Medical Locums are confident about both the future of the contracting sector and the future performance of the Irish economy. They have a confidence index score of +5 for the contracting sector in the next 3-5 years, and a score of +3 for the performance of the Irish economy in 2024.
The Irish Economy
Confidence Index
| Medical Locum | |
| 2024 | +3 |
| 2023 | -11 |
| 2022 | +44 |
| 2021 | +2 |
The Contracting Sector
Confidence Index
| Medical Locum | |
| 2024 | +5 |
| 2023 | -3 |
| 2022 | +13 |
| 2021 | +25 |
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