The General Secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has said that staffing levels in hospitals need to return to 2008 levels.
Liam Doran said all wards in all hospitals are understaffed, including medical surgery wards, midwifery wards and in public health nursing.
Speaking to RTÉ's Drivetime, he said nurses need to be replaced and HSE management need to grasp the level of competition for nurses and match packages similar to those being offered in the UK.
He said that while the recruitment drive is excellent, the labour market is very tight and to address the shortage, the package offered to nurses needs to be more attractive.
Mr Doran also said the HSE needs to offer post graduate programmes and continuous development opportunities.
Earlier, the INMO raised concerns about the number of vacant nursing posts at Cork University Hospital. The organisation said there are currently 78 vacant nursing posts.
Senior management at CUH have confirmed there are 42 vacant nursing posts at the hospital.
The INMO says the hospital is operating at almost full capacity in an unsafe care environment.
It said it raised the issues with management in June but no progress had been made to improve staffing levels.
INMO Industrial Relations Officer Mary Rose Carroll said there were no nursing posts in Ireland during the moratorium and many newly qualified nurses emigrated to the UK and Australia.
She said the fallout from the moratorium resulted in the loss of 5,000 nurses.
Ms Carroll said it is difficult to encourage Irish nurses to come back to Ireland because nursing salaries are less than other countries and development opportunities are better abroad.
She said nurses work harder in Ireland for less money and longer hours.
She said she was very concerned about the staffing situation at CUH: "Our members have heightened their concerns and notified management of the daily challenge to provide safe and effective care as a result of inadequate staffing levels.
"This is unacceptable to the members we represent.
"The INMO is seeking that the Hospital Group at CUH and formulate an immediate action plan to address the serious risk to patients."
Ms Carroll added: "In the interests of patient safety and to minimise risk, the INMO believes services should be curtailed and beds closed until adequate staff are available to provide safe effective care."
In a statement, the Executive Board of CUH said it absolutely refutes the assertions made by the INMO in relation to staffing at the hospital.
It said there are currently 42 vacancies in the hospital and an intensive recruitment programme has been in place since January.
It said that today, there are three interview panels interviewing candidates for posts to include interviews taking place via Skype to facilitate candidates in Britain, America and Australia.
