At least 17 HSE consultants have been paid retirement lump sums of more than €250,000 this year.

According to details released under the Freedom of Information Act, 10 people got over €300,000.

In total, HSE staff were paid more than €71m in retirement lump sums in the first nine months of this year.

Some 131 people got at least €100,000 each.

The 17 who received over €250,000 are all consultants – including obstetricians, psychiatrists and paediatricians.

The largest amount was €374,000, which was given to a general physician.

In 2019, the HSE paid out retirement lump sums that came to over €107m in total.

A total of 19 consultants and a general manager got over €200,000.

The highest payment was over €397,000, paid out to a consultant psychiatrist.