University Hospital Limerick has 76 patients waiting on trolleys - just four shy of worst ever tally

The two other worst-hit hospitals were Cork University Hospital that had 41 patients waiting and University Hospital Galway that had 34.

There were 76 admitted patients awaiting a hospital bed in University Hospital Limerick today - the highest in the county, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

Every morning INMO members count how many patients are waiting in the Emergency Department for a bed and how many are waiting in wards elsewhere in the hospital.