Hospital inpatient capacity will be increased by just 162 beds this year, despite a record budget for the Department of Health.
As reported by The Irish Times, the HSE has confirmed that of 261 inpatient beds announced in this year's capital plan, 99 are replacements of existing beds, meaning just 162 will be additional.
The 162 new beds will be spread across five hospitals, more than half of which will be at the Mater Hospital in Dublin.
The new beds at the Mater will be added in two new ward blocks; 40 during a first phase, followed by a further 56 in a second phase.
Mallow General Hospital in Cork will get 20 additional beds as part of the replacement of a medical ward there, while refurbishments at South Tipperary General Hospital will see 33 beds added.
Naas General Hospital will get a new 12 single-room modular unit, while the Coombe Women's Hospital will have one bed added as part of an upgrade to St Patrick's Ward.
The number of beds being added this year falls far below a recent estimate published by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), which found 1,000 new beds are needed immediately, in addition to 300 extra beds each year.
As part of plans by Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly to speed up the expansion of hospital capacity, the HSE has put "up to 1,500" beds out to tender, which will be spread across 15 sites.
It comes as figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) showed there were 524 people waiting for hospital beds on Friday morning.
University Hospital Limerick was once again the most overcrowded hospital in the State, with 81 patients waiting on trolleys, followed by Cork University Hospital (55) and St Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin (46).
