There are 432 patients are waiting in the emergency department, while 153 are in wards elsewhere in the hospital.

There were a total of 93 of those patients in University Hospital Limerick, 82 in Cork University Hospital, and 53 at Galway University Hospital.

Speaking about the issue, INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “The level of overcrowding we have seen over the last six weeks in particular has a cause of concern for nurses and midwives."

The majority of patients waiting for a bed are in University Hospital Limerick, with 98 - followed by 46 in Cork University Hospital - and 44 in Galway.

There were a total of 586 admitted patients waiting for beds on Tuesday morning.

A further 35 people are in ICU with the virus as the healthcare system has been dealing with record overcrowding over the past few weeks.

The chief executive of the Mental Health Commission said they found independent privately-run mental health centres offered a better level of care than HSE-run facilities