Around 1,000 nurses in the Midwest region, which includes Nenagh, Ennis and Croom hospitals as well as University Hospital Limerick, will be balloted for industrial action.
The ballot is taking place in response to overcrowding and at plans to place additional beds in Nenagh and Ennis hospitals without supplying enough staff to manage the extra workload.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that 563 people across the country were in emergency departments or wards awaiting admission to a bed today.
The head of the INMO, Liam Doran has said that the figure is a shocking one to encounter on what he referred to as the first working day of 2015.
