The national figures show 5,428 deaths in Emergency Departments nationwide in the past five years.

The €15 million project began construction in 2022 with a focus on future expansion possibilities a priority in its design.

Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe currently has 21 people waiting for a bed.

Meanwhile, University Hospital Galway has 57 people waiting on trolleys today.

Those figures are up from 528 compared to February 2023.

According to the IHCA, many patients will have often made alternative arrangements due to the length of time on the waiting list or may no longer be suitable for treatment.

Nationally, Limerick University Hospital is facing 112 people in their ED this morning.

Between January and May of this year a total of 5,172 patients left local hospitals before their treatment was finished.