The Irish Nurses and Midwives' Organisation has said 386 people are waiting in hospital Emergency Departments, or on wards for admission to a hospital bed.
Beaumont Hospital in Dublin has again asked people to avoid visits to its Emergency Department unless it is absolutely necessary.
The hospital has said this is necessary because of overcrowding - 33 people are reported to be waiting on beds with 27 on trolleys and six on wards.
At the Midland Regional Hospital in Mullingar 35 people are waiting on a bed, with 34 at University Hospital Limerick and 30 at St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin.
Beaumont Hospital said all non-urgent procedures have been cancelled or postponed until further notice and it is asking GPs not to refer new patients to the hospital's Emergency Department.
It said 14 cases were cancelled today, of which ten are day cases and four are planned procedures.
Beaumont said several factors have contributed to the difficulties in the Emergency Department including changes to cancer services across the region and recent service developments in the hospital which have drawn on its limited bed capacity.
Speaking to RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Beaumont chief executive officer Liam Duffy said: "In recent weeks there has been an increase in admissions.
"Our catchment area, which has the oldest population in the Dublin region, has increased significantly in the last five or six years.
"So the admission rate has increased, therefore the demand is greater. And alongside, we have been expanding cancer services as well and that puts additional demands on the services."
CEO Liam Duffy explains why Beaumont Hospital is so overcrowded
He said that last Friday, more than 40 patients were waiting for beds in the Emergency Department, and that this had reduced to 31 by early this morning.
He expected that that number would be 23 after a day ward opened this morning. Day cases have been re-scheduled until after Christmas.
Mr Duffy said there were over 100 patients in Beaumont who were waiting for placements in Nursing Homes or for Home Care packages.
He said the Government had made announcements in recent days to improve the packages available for the community and that these were being accessed, but that it took time.
He said there needed to be a systematic approach to providing long-term care for patients.
Mr Duffy said there needed to be beds coming available on a weekly or fortnightly basis, not on a quarterly basis or when a crisis arose.
Beaumont Hospital went "off-call" for about four hours on Friday, during which time emergency cases were diverted to other hospitals.
Mr Duffy said there were no plans to go "off-call" this week, and he said the situation would be monitored.
He said if the hospital went off call it put pressure on other hospitals.
The hospital, which is one of the largest teaching hospitals in Dublin, treats more than 50,000 patients annually in its Emergency Department and also provides cancer, neurosurgery and transplant services in the region.
Ambulance cases are still being accepted at the hospital.
Minister for Health Leo Varadkar has said that he believes the overcrowding situation at Beaumont Hospital should ease in a few days.
He said that the problem existed in other hospitals also and that a long term plan is required.
Mr Varadkar said: "The hospital itself has introduced a number of measures including postponing some elective admissions and discharging patients as much as they can.
"They're also getting support sent in from the HSE, with 19 sit-down beds, additional home care packages and additional nursing home places to alleviate the pressures in the hospital.
"So I think we will see an alleviation in the next couple of days."
Meanwhile, there were no major overcrowding issues this morning at the Emergency Department at Galway University Hospital.
Eight patients were on trolleys in the department by around midday.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said this was an exception to the usual situation at the facility.
It said staff and services were put under severe pressure in recent days when a surge in patient numbers caused widespread difficulties.
Vomiting bug outbreak at MUH
Separately, Mercy University Hospital has cancelled all hospital visits with the exception of the children's ward for 24 hours due to an outbreak of the winter vomiting flu.
The hospital is seeking the public's cooperation with the restrictions, but will deal with exceptional cases on an individual basis.
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