Hospitals across the country are expected to be under pressure this week due to an expected peak in flu.
The HSE CEO Bernard Gloster is reportedly predicting a 'very challenging week' ahead.
Steps have been taken to tackle the rise in the respiratory illness.
But Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha says overcrowding makes it harder to treat flu patients:
"When you have overcrowded wards, inappropriate areas for overnight stay, and an overcrowded ED, when you have an illness such as flu or COVID, that is respiratory transmissible, then you are going to see much worse outcomes purely because of the place the patient is in".
