Sinn Féin has called for an emergency Dáil debate on the trolley crisis - saying the Government cannot be allowed to escape scrutiny.
Today's daily trolley watch from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organistion shows 493 patients waiting for beds.
374 of them are waiting on trolleys.
INMO Trolley/Ward Watch 14/03/16
493 Patients
374 on trolleys
119 on wardshttps://t.co/T5NNnngv6N #trolleywatch pic.twitter.com/QnhOKZKAVc— INMO_IRL (@INMO_IRL) March 14, 2016
The hospitals with the worst overcrowding are St Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin with 43 and Naas General Hospital with 38.
It comes as talks continue at the Workplace Relations Commission on a plan to deal with the overcrowding crisis in Emergency Departments.
Sinn Féin TD Louise O'Reilly says the failure to appoint a new government shouldn't allow the existing one to go unchallenged over the current crisis.
She says Health Minister Leo Varadkar should take charge of the situation:
