Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin needed an overdraft facility of €8.5 million last year to ease its financial difficulties.

The hospital more than tripled its overdraft in the final quarter of 2013, according to the Irish Independent.

Crumlin Hospital has recently submitted a business case to the HSE to formally sanction top-up payments to five senior staff, including its chief executive, Lorcan Birthistle, to bring his total pay to just under €141,000.

Minutes of hospital board meetings in 2013 show concern during the year about Crumlin's ability to manage its budget, including an instruction from the HSE to make €4 million in savings through cost containment measures.

Board members also discussed the challenge in getting enough children who are private patients into private beds at the hospital, as a result of the drop in private health insurance cover.