An agreement between the Health Service Executive and private hospitals to provide extra capacity during the Covid-19 emergency to the public health system is expected within days.
Any overall deal is likely to be for a period of about 12 months and would involve individual private hospitals or hospital groups agreeing their own particular terms regarding HSE access to a percentage of their capacity.
While the Government had previously sought access to 40% of private hospital beds, any agreements are likely to involve a lower figure, closer to around 25%.
The Private Hospitals Association said today that talks are at "an advanced stage" with the HSE on an agreement to support the public health system to contain a potential surge in Covid-19 cases.
The association represents around 18 private hospitals around the country.
It said that it is facilitating talks between its individual members and the HSE on providing additional hospital capacity throughout the country if required as a response to the evolving situation.
Covid-19 projections more concerning than first wave
The Health Service Executive's National Director of Acute Operations has said he has never seen a threat of this scale growing this quickly.
Liam Woods said Covid-19 projections look more concerning now than they did during the first wave, which is why the HSE is taking steps to protect hospitals and increase capacity for coronavirus patients.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said this means that all non-emergency procedures must be cancelled although emergency departments will remain open.
The number of patients with confirmed Covid-19 in hospitals has increased from 776 yesterday evening to 817 today and of 73 patients in ICU, 38 are on ventilators.
The HSE said 37 adult ICU beds are currently available in the public health system and there are a total of 280 ICU adult beds open and staffed.
Mr Woods said surge plans will allow Intensive Care Unit bed numbers to grow to 350.
He said the HSE has continued to work with private hospitals over the last number of months and is hopeful a new arrangement will be in place in the next few days to give wider access for public patients.
Mr Woods said the effect of the virus both locally in a hospital where there is an outbreak, and across the wider level of the community, can be very disabling.
HSE Chief Executive Paul Reid said around 3,000 HSE staff are currently out because they have Covid-19 or are a close contact.
He warned that in a few days' time there could be between 1,500 and 2,500 cases in hospital, with the number in ICU rising to between 250 and 430, which are levels that put critical care units at high and extreme risk.
Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha has said members in the public hospital system are "under serious pressure and they are very tired".
She said a survey completed by members a number of months ago found that levels of burnout where very high, and there was also a high incident of exhaustion when off duty.
Meanwhile, the Vice President of Irish Hospital Consultants Association and Consultant Pediatric Radiologist at the National Maternity Hospital, said less than 30% of her team is available for work.
Speaking on the same programme, Dr Gabrielle Colleran said this is due to staff being symptomatic of Covid-19, being close contacts of a confirmed case, or due to the impact of childcare affecting people's availability for work.
"This is having a huge impact on some urgent inpatient and all essential outpatient work, more than at any other time during the pandemic", she said.
