439 sick people are currently waiting on trolleys and wards in emergency departments across the country.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, which is considering strike action - says October was the worst on record for overcrowding.

Meanwhile a consultant has complained to Tallaght Hospital that a couple in their 90s were left 'to fester' on trolleys for hours.

Juliette Gash reports;

The Taoiseach says he wants to know who in Tallaght Hospital decided not to offer the 91-year-old Parkinsons sufferer a bed more quickly.

The trolley crisis has been raised in the Dáil, where Enda Kenny was told he should be "ashamed" over his government's handling.

Our political correspondent Gavan Reilly reports