The Health Service Executive has said that the pay dispute involving agency or locum doctors is causing "minimal" impact to overall service delivery.
The dispute centres on a new contract negotiated between the HSE and agencies who supply temporary or locum doctors.
Under the contract, which commenced on 1 September, the average hourly rate of pay for agency doctors has fallen from €40 to €34 - compared to €27 for directly employed doctors.
There had been suggestions that up to 150 agency doctors might refuse to turn up for work from Monday.
However according to the HSE, only 15 failed to show yesterday, and the worst affected hospitals were Navan, Portlaoise and Tallaght.
The HSE said today that hospital groups are reporting they have full cover across all sites - though they admit that the situation remains challenging.
Yesterday, the Irish Association of Emergency Medicine warned that the agency doctor gaps are being plugged by staff being transferred from other areas of hospital activity, and that the system is currently operating on good will.
It said that the situation could not continue indefinitely, and that if it were not resolved, patients could ultimately face longer waiting times to see doctors.
Minister for Health Simon Harris said yesterday that patients should not be used as pawns, while the HSE Director of Acute Care Liam Woods ruled out any renegotiation of the agency contract to rescind the pay cuts.
