Minister for Health Mary Harney has indicated that she would support using intensive care beds in the private sector to relieve pressure on public hospitals.
The Minister said there were 11 vacant intensive care beds at the new privately-owned Beacon Hospital in Dublin last week when operations for public patients were being cancelled at St James's due to a shortage of intensive care facilities.
Beacon Hospital yesterday confirmed that it had offered its intensive care facilities to St James's Hospital when it emerged that operations were being deferred.
A spokesman said the offer had not been taken up last week.
Beacon Hospital said if public hospitals were under pressure again, and it had spare capacity at the time in its intensive care unit, it would be prepared to help out.
Speaking on RTÉ radio on Saturday, Ms Harney said patients wanted treatment to be provided, and how hospitals were funded was not the issue. Waiting lists had been tacked successfully by the National Treatment Purchase Fund, which also availed of the private sector.
A spokesman for St James's Hospital said there had been contact between it and Beacon Hospital last week regarding intensive care facilities.
However, St James's said it was "working closely with the Health Service Executive on improving the number of critical care beds available in the hospital".
The spokesman said the priority was to look at the implementation of a long-term solution to the problem.
Some informed sources have said there could be practical difficulties in transferring patients from St James's to Beacon Hospital.
It was claimed it was not just a question of providing a staffed intensive care bed. Patients requiring such care after serious procedures were the responsibility of doctors at St James's.
The Health Service Executive said yesterday that Beacon's offer to take patients from St James's was a matter between the two hospitals.
Last Friday the board of St James's Hospital said inadequate capacity in its intensive care and high-dependency units was a long-standing problem which had not been addressed on a long-term basis.
Last week up to 20 operations, including cancer surgery, were cancelled at St James's due to a shortage of beds in the intensive care unit.
The Intensive Care Society of Ireland said last week there was a "massive" shortage of intensive care beds across the State. It said patients were being put at risk as a result.
