The scale of the health waiting lists crisis has been laid bare by Fianna Fáil, which estimates 1m patient appointments were outstanding this year. The situation is a “national scandal”, says the party.

Nearly 600 people are waiting for hospital beds today, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation's trolley watch.

Up to 522 people are waiting on trolleys in hospitals across the country today.

A second 101-year-old woman spent over 24 hours on an emergency department hospital trolley, it has been claimed.