Most of the beds were open on Tuesday, however it was expected that all 96 beds would be available on Wednesday, the HSE said

This comes after Hiqa released a report suggesting three solutions to the issue of overcrowding in University Hospital Limerick

A new unit containing the 96 single beds, which has been under construction for the past three years. will be operational within the next week, it is understood.

67 patients are waiting for a bed in University Hospital Limerick; 34 of these are in the emergency department.

The figures published by the European Commission show there were 291 hospital beds per 100,000 people in the Republic in 2022 compared to the EU average of 516.

Stephen Donnelly said that if consultants’ productivity increased to previous levels, outpatient waiting lists would be ‘eradicated’.

The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly has previously announced plans to open 147 additional acute beds in 2024. 

The ESRI said 300 additional hospital beds are needed each year to keep up with population growth

University Hospital Limerick is the worst affected hospital today with 80 patients on trolleys.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said the Government’s delivery of acute hospital inpatient beds was ‘significantly ahead’ of targets

This year was the worst on record for hospital overcrowding in Ireland.

Over 12,624 people have been without beds in Irish hospitals this month with over 563 children on trolleys in November.

Last week saw the highest cases of Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) the country has ever recorded.

More than 393 children under the age of 16 were on trolleys in the month of October, the worst month for paediatric overcrowding on record

University Hospital Galway was the most overcrowded hospital in August, with 1,166 patients waiting on trolleys.

Bishop Brendan Leahy aid Irish public patients should not be expected to travel to receive scheduled care