Up to a thousand hospital patients could be treated on trolleys in a single day in the weeks ahead.
That's the warning from the Irish Hospital Consultants' Association, as overcrowding reaches record levels.
TDs are facing a call to return to Leinster House immediately, to deal with the crisis.
They're not due back from their Christmas break for another two weeks - but independent TD Marian Harkin says this issue cannot wait until then:
"I would like to see the Dail recalled, as this is a national emergency.
"I heard the Minister [for Health] say recently that it's going to get worse before it gets better, and I was shocked beyond words. I was appalled by that - it's the Minister's job to make things better.
"This no longer a crisis - this is a catastrophe."
