Ireland is dealing with a "triple wave of viruses", according to the HSE's Chief Operations Officer.
Damien McCallion said that there are currently 250 children in hospital with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), 600 people are in hospital with Covid and 300 patients have influenza.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he described this as a "unique position that we have never had before".
He added that the different illnesses are putting huge pressure on the healthcare system.
Mr McCallion said the HSE is investing in additional beds, extending opening hours of local injury units, putting additional people into GP out-of-hours at peak times and increasing ED staffing.
"Those will ultimately assist to alleviate the pressures, but it's still at a level at the moment in terms of pressures on the emergency departments, that none of us can be happy with.
"Least of all, those people who are using the service at the moment," he said.
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Meanwhile, Chief Medical Officer Breda Smyth has appealed to people to stay at home if they have flu-like symptoms and to return to wearing masks on public transport.
Yesterday, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said there were 760 admitted patients waiting for a hospital bed in the morning, the highest number since January 2020.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said the level of overcrowding is a danger to both patients and staff.
Communications Officer with the Irish Association of Emergency Medicine Dr Fergal Hickey said that overcrowding figures were "predictable" and are not just a seasonal issue.
"Typically overcrowding gets worse in January and February, so, if we have already equalled that shameful record from two years ago in December, we can anticipate that things are going to get significantly worse," Dr Hickey told RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne.
The INMO said that non-elective surgery should not be taking place at the moment, but Dr Hickey maintains that the health service should have the capacity to react to circumstances at all times of the year.
"There isn't a huge amount of elective activity taking place, but we should have a health service that is capable of doing both elective surgery and dealing with emergencies," he said.
The hospital worst affected is University Hospital Limerick with 92 patients, with 76 waiting for a bed at University College Cork and 49 waiting at St Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin.
Meanwhile, the General Manager of University Hospital Waterford has said that there are currently no patients on trolleys at the hospital, but elective surgeries have been postponed.
Grace Rothwell told RTE's News at One that the hospital is "exceptionally busy" at present.
"We’re exceptionally busy at the moment but equally we’re working hard in getting discharges out," she said.
