Labour TD Tommy Broughan walked out of the Dáil today after he was ruled out of order by the Ceann Comhairle.
The Dublin North-East politician was trying to raise the issue of overcrowding at Beaumont Hospital on the city's northside with the Taoiseach.
But after angry exchanges, Ceann Comhairle Rory O'Hanlon asked Mr Broughan to leave the House and he agreed.
Mr O'Hanlon told Mr Broughan that the issue he was raising was not appropriate to the Order of Business in the Dáil.
"Do you wish to leave the House?" Mr O'Hanlon asked the TD several times before Mr Broughan replied: "I will leave the house."
Mr Broughan later said he had visited Beaumont Hospital last night to visit a friend and there were up to 14 patients on trolleys. "A lot of people were in distress. It's a national disgrace," he said. "My friend in the hospital told me that some of the patients were on trolleys for a couple of days."
Mr Broughan later said he was trying to raise the issue with the Mr Ahern because it was on the edge of his constituency.
"I will raise the issue again as soon as I get the chance. The state of overcrowding in our hospitals is at crisis point and we are supposed to be one of the richest nations in Europe."