The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation is calling for a major emergency plan to be implemented at University Hospital Limerick to bring about a level of control and safety at the hospital's emergency department.
Yesterday, there were 47 patients on trolleys because of the unavailability of beds.
The INMO said 38 patients have been placed in additional beds and on trolleys around the hospital today and a further 23 people are waiting in the emergency department for placement.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, INMO Industrial Relations Officer Mary Fogarty said it was not acceptable that any patient should be required to lie on a trolley in a very overcrowded or unfit for purpose emergency department.
She urged the Government to provide additional funding for more beds.
Ms Fogarty said: "We are calling on the Minister for Health now to put in place the funding for an additional 30 beds at the hospital. They can come on stream very quickly.
"We are also seeking that the hospital is robustly managed in the context of when it gets to a certain level, a peak level. It should never reach 47 patients on trolleys.
"That is a crisis and they should be able to implement the major incidence plan at the hospital to ensure that it's safe for patients and for staff."
Ms Fogarty said the situation has been bad throughout the summer and nurses have been very concerned.
She said they were dealing with a mismanaged reconfiguration process at Limerick over a number of years.
She said there was no doubt, and it was confirmed by the Health Information and Quality Authority in its review in June this year, that these delays and this type of overcrowding were having a negative impact on the outcome for patients.
