Protesters gathered at hospitals around the country this afternoon in the first in a series of protests organised by the Irish Nurses' Organisation (INO) over overcrowding in accident and emergency units.
An estimated 100 people attended the demonstration at the accident and emergency ward at the Mater Hospital in Dublin, with dozens more attending demonstrations at Cork University Hospital and Roscommon General Hospital.
The INO is seeking a guaranteed timeframe for the implementation of Minister for Health Mary Harney's ten-point plan to alleviate pressure on A&E departments.
INO general secretary Liam Doran, speaking at the protest at the Mater Hospital, said the current situation was a result of a "total absence of planning" and "an abject dereliction of duty" on the part of the Government.
He likened the Mater to a "war zone" and said that with a population of four million people, Ireland now had fewer hospital beds than when the country had a population of 3.25 million.
According to INO figures, there were 325 people waiting on trolleys in the State's public hospitals this morning. The worst affected hospitals were Tallaght and the Mater, which respectively had 63 and 37 people waiting on trolleys.
The demonstrations, which lasted a half an hour today, will be repeated at various hospitals around the country for the month of April.
Nurses, patients and members of the public participated in the protests, which will target one Dublin hospital and one provincial hospital twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the rest of the month.
Protesters were also addressed by Jeanette Byrne of the Patients Together group and David Begg of Ictu.
Ms Byrne said the protests were an indication of their desperation and called on the Government for "speedy and effective action" to deal with the problem of overcrowding "for once and for all".
This Thursday's protests will take place at Tallaght Hospital, Cavan General and Mayo General Hospital.
Deputy leader of the Labour Party Ms Liz McManus expressed her support for the nurses this morning and said the Tánaiste should "start listening to health professionals".
Ms Harney announced a €70 million package earlier this year to help tackle the A&E crisis. However, it has been widely criticised by the medical profession, particularly nurses, as being ineffective to date.
The Health Service Executive said yesterday patients who are being "inappropriately cared for" in acute hospitals are now beginning to be discharged under Ms Harney's plan.
The executive said 27 patients who had completed the acute phase of their treatment had been discharged home with a package of care and a further 41 are being discharged.