Tallaght Hospital says it plans to convert one of its 16-bed paediatric wards into an adult ward to cope with increased pressures.
The hospital says inpatient children's beds in the National Children's Hospital are underused, due to the shift to day and outpatient treatment.
The hospital says the beds are needed to cope with excess demand for adult beds.
Tallaght says there will be no diminution of services or reduction in activity.
Currently the hospital has 61 inpatient paediatric beds and 16 of these beds have been closed since 2012.
It says that even with these closures, there is still 30% unused capacity in paediatric inpatient beds.
Tallaght has 414 adult inpatient beds and says this service is overcapacity, due to the ageing population and greater case complexity.
The planned change would see the redesignation and conversion of the paediatric 'Beech Ward' into an adult ward.
