Concern is being raised over the number of elderly people waiting for a decision on applications to the Fair Deal Scheme in Co. Clare.
The programme provides for a contribution to the cost of nursing home care from the patient with the balance paid for by the state.
Nationally the waiting list has grown from just over 600 hundred in February to 2,100 today.
Ennis area Fianna Fáil Cllr Tom McNamara says people are being forced to pay up to €16,000 for nursing home care while the HSE decides on applications.
Separately, University Hospital Limerick is reported to be the most overcrowded hospital in the country today.
According to the latest Trolley watch report from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation 30 people are on trolleys at the facility either in the Accident and Emergency or in overflow areas of wards.
