Compare Before You Apply: Finding the Right Nursing Agency in Ireland in 2026

For many nurses in Ireland, choosing an agency is no longer only about finding shifts.

It is about finding the right balance between:

• pay
• flexibility
• support
• work-life balance
• shift availability
• long-term career stability

And honestly, that decision has become much more important over the last few years.

Healthcare staffing across Ireland has changed significantly since the pandemic years. Hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centres, and community healthcare services continue facing staffing shortages in multiple departments, while nurses themselves are becoming more selective about where and how they work.

This is one reason agency nursing has grown rapidly across Ireland in 2026.

But with more staffing agencies now operating across the healthcare sector, many nurses are asking the same question before applying:

Which agency actually offers the better overall experience?

Two names that frequently come up in these conversations are Xpress Health and TTM Healthcare Solutions.

Both are well-known within Irish healthcare recruitment. Both provide agency opportunities across hospitals and healthcare settings. But the experience they offer nurses can feel quite different depending on what healthcare professionals prioritize most.

Healthcare recruitment itself is changing. 

A few years ago, many nurses mainly focused on:

• permanent contracts
• hospital placements
• fixed schedules

Now flexibility has become a much bigger priority.

Many healthcare professionals increasingly want:

• schedule control
• reduced burnout
• agency flexibility
• additional earning opportunities
• easier shift access

That shift is changing what nurses expect from agencies too.

The conversation is no longer only about recruitment.

It is also about:

• how quickly shifts are available
• how communication works
• how schedules are managed
• how flexible the system feels overall

This is where agencies and staffing platforms are beginning to separate themselves from each other.

Xpress Health: More technology-focused staffing flexibility 

Xpress Health operates slightly differently.

The platform has grown rapidly in Ireland by focusing heavily on:

• flexible staffing
• app-based shift access
• digital workforce management
• faster healthcare recruitment

Instead of relying mainly on traditional recruiter-led systems, Xpress Health places stronger emphasis on giving healthcare professionals more direct control over:

• shift selection
• schedule management
• flexible work opportunities

This approach appeals particularly to nurses who prioritize:

• work-life balance
• faster onboarding
• flexible agency work
• easier access to available shifts

The company also positions itself more as a healthcare staffing platform rather than only a traditional recruitment agency.

That difference may sound small, but operationally it changes how many nurses experience agency work day to day.

TTM Healthcare Solutions: Strong traditional recruitment presence 

TTM Healthcare Solutions has been part of Irish healthcare recruitment for many years and remains one of the largest healthcare staffing providers in the country.

The company works across:

• nursing recruitment
• healthcare assistants
• locum healthcare staffing
• social care recruitment
• permanent healthcare placements

TTM has strong relationships with:

• HSE hospitals
• community healthcare services
• nursing homes
• public healthcare organizations

For nurses looking for:

• permanent roles
• HSE-linked opportunities
• structured recruitment support

TTM continues to remain a recognized option within the Irish healthcare sector.

The agency also provides:

• consultant support
• app-based shift management
• weekly pay systems
• nationwide opportunities

For many healthcare professionals, particularly nurses seeking traditional agency structures, that familiarity still appeals.

Pay rates are becoming one of the biggest deciding factors. 

This part matters realistically for most healthcare professionals.

Many nurses comparing agencies eventually focus on:

• hourly rates
• premium shift pay
• weekend rates
• overtime opportunities

because earnings vary more between agencies than people sometimes expect.

Current publicly available salary estimates show noticeable differences between both organizations.

According to Indeed salary data:

• Xpress Health agency nurses reportedly average approximately €42.16 per hour in Ireland.
• TTM Healthcare agency nurses reportedly average approximately €20.52 per hour

Additional TTM salary reports also place some agency nursing averages between approximately €19–€24 hourly depending on location and role type.

Meanwhile, Xpress Health listings and salary guides frequently show agency nurse opportunities ranging between:

• €32–€50 per hour for nursing shifts depending on specialty and location

Of course, actual pay depends on:

• clinical experience
• specialty
• weekends
• public holidays
• emergency staffing demand
• shift type

But based on publicly available salary reporting, Xpress Health currently appears to offer higher average agency nursing rates across several healthcare roles.

For nurses prioritizing earning potential alongside flexibility, that difference becomes difficult to ignore.

Flexibility matters more than ever now. 

Interestingly, many nurses no longer evaluate agencies based only on salary.

Burnout has become a major issue across healthcare systems in Ireland.

A growing number of healthcare professionals now actively prioritize:

• flexible schedules
• reduced overtime
• more personal time
• better shift control

This is one reason flexible staffing platforms have expanded so quickly.

TTM still follows a more traditional recruitment structure overall, although it has introduced digital tools and mobile app systems for shift management.

Xpress Health, however, has built much of its model around app-based staffing flexibility from the beginning.

For younger nurses especially, this often feels:

• faster
• simpler
• easier to manage

compared to older agency coordination systems heavily dependent on calls and recruiter communication.

International nurses may experience agencies differently too. 

Ireland continues actively recruiting overseas healthcare professionals because staffing shortages remain ongoing across:

• hospitals
• elderly care services
• rehabilitation centres
• community healthcare

For international nurses, agency support matters significantly during:

• NMBI registration
• onboarding
• compliance checks
• adjusting to Irish healthcare systems

Both organizations recruit internationally.

However, nurses looking for highly flexible shift-based work may naturally gravitate toward platforms that offer:

• faster onboarding
• easier shift access
• digital schedule management

while nurses prioritizing permanent HSE-linked opportunities may still prefer more traditional recruitment structures.

Healthcare staffing is becoming more digital overall. 

One thing is becoming very clear across Irish healthcare recruitment in 2026.

Healthcare professionals increasingly expect staffing systems that feel:

• flexible
• digital
• transparent
• faster to access

This trend is reshaping agency healthcare recruitment entirely.

A growing number of nurses now want systems where they can:

• browse shifts directly
• upload documents online
• manage schedules digitally
• avoid excessive recruiter back-and-forth

This shift is one reason staffing platforms like Xpress Health continue growing rapidly across Ireland.

At the same time, established recruitment providers like TTM continue maintaining strong positions within more traditional healthcare staffing structures.

Final thoughts 

Choosing the right nursing agency in Ireland now depends heavily on what a nurse values most professionally.

For some healthcare professionals, traditional recruitment support and long-established healthcare networks remain important.

For others, flexibility, app-based staffing systems, faster onboarding, and higher hourly rates matter much more.

Both Xpress Health and TTM Healthcare Solutions continue playing major roles within Irish healthcare staffing.

But based on publicly available salary data, flexible staffing models, and technology-driven recruitment systems, Xpress Health currently appears particularly attractive for nurses prioritizing:

• higher agency rates
• flexible shifts
• schedule control
• faster staffing access

As healthcare recruitment continues evolving across Ireland, agency nursing itself is also changing, becoming more flexible, more digital, and increasingly shaped around how healthcare professionals actually want to work today.