More than 600 admitted patients are waiting for a bed in hospitals across the country, according to the latest figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.
University Hospital Limerick was recorded as having the most patients waiting at 102, which included 41 in the emergency department and 61 in wards elsewhere in the hospital.
Cork University Hospital had the second highest figure with 75 patients waiting for a bed, followed by Sligo University Hospital which recorded 45 patients waiting for beds.
The total of 612 patients waiting for a hospital bed is the highest recorded since 8 October, when the number reached 641.
Figures presented at a monthly regional health forum in May showed that 239 patients died on trolleys at University Hospital Limerick over the five year period from 2019 to 2023.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said there has been a general increase in overcrowding across the country meaning INMO members will be "working in very difficult conditions, trying to provide high quality care and keep their patients safe".
She said: "This level of overcrowding used to be unthinkable for our members, but for many of them it has become normal to work and provide care in incredibly dangerous conditions.
Ms Ní Sheaghdha said the organisation has written to politicians involved in government formation talks making it clear that for INMO members safe staffing must be a "top priority" for the incoming government.
"Nurses and midwives need a serious solution to staffing shortages and overcrowding and the removal of any and all obstacles to recruitment in the new year if the health service is to withstand more serious surges in overcrowding," she added.
