Fianna Fáil says delayed discharges of patients are leading to overcrowding in emergency departments.
TD Mary Butler says over 136,000 hospital bed days have been lost through delayed discharges in the first eight months of the year.
Patients are classified in this way when they no longer need to be cared for in an acute hospital setting.
Deputy Butler says older people do not have the step-down facilities they need.
"They're waiting to go home but they don't have the step-down facilities available to them.
"Last week, for example, we learned from the Care Alliance report that 6,000 people are now waiting for home care services. That's an awful lot of people.
"Unfortunately in an awful lot of instances, these people have to stay in hospital. They're in the acute hospital setting because there are no step-down facilities available for them."
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