The Health Minister says he doesn't know how many staff have volunteered to work the June Bank Holiday weekend.
CEO of the HSE, Bernard Gloster, wrote to staff in recent weeks, pleading with them to volunteer to work this weekend.
He wants to avoid a situation like in May, where over 700 people were on trolleys following the bank holiday.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly says many staff already work a seven-day roster:
"You go into a hospital tonight at 4am, you'll find that there's nurses there. There's healthcare assistants there. There's junior doctors there. We have the new Consultant Contract in place. This is a game changer This moves the consultant role from 40 hours roster a week to 80 hours".
