The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) is to commence a ballot of intensive care unit nurses in University Hospital Limerick in a dispute over staffing levels.
The INMO said there is a lack of consistent safe staffing in the intensive care unit and that this is having a detrimental impact on the physical and mental wellbeing of members and their patients.
The union said negotiations at a local level have been exhausted and that a ballot will take place over the coming weeks.
The INMO will notify hospital management of the outcome of the vote upon completion.
"The issues that exist in University Hospital Limerick have been well documented by this union," said INMO Assistant Director of Relations, Mary Fogarty.
"Hospital management have failed to provide an appropriate contingency plan to address the nurse deficits in the ICU and the enablement of outstanding annual leave, time off In Lieu to be taken and/or paid to nurses as requested."
The University of Limerick Hospitals Group has expressed its disappoinment, describing the ballot as premature.
The group said that all local engagement and other dispute procedures had not been exhausted, and it remained committed to continued engagement with the union to ensure a resolution.
Like all hospitals around the country, the group said, University Hospital Limerick is affected by staffing challenges and there is a concerted focus by management to ensure that deficits are priortised.
Meanwhile, the INMO said there were 104 admitted patients waiting for a hospital bed at UHL this morning.
It is the second time in less than a week that the numbers of patients waiting has reached 100 or over.
There were 100 patients waiting in the hospital's emergency department and on wards last Thursday. The hospital also had these high numbers of over 100 on dates in February and in June of last year.
The INMO said that overall there were 606 admitted patients waiting for a bed at hospitals around the country - with 472 patients waiting in emergency departments, while 134 are waiting in other areas.
Among the other hospitals worst affected by overcrowding are Cork University Hospital with 70 patients waiting; St Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin with 48 and 44 at University Hospital Galway.
There were 15 patients waiting for a bed across the three children's hospitals - Temple Street, Crumlin and Tallaght.
Additional reporting Cathy Halloran
