Nurses at Dublin's Beaumont Hospital are holding a lunchtime protest today.

The demonstration at the gates to the hospital is in protest at what the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) says are unsafe conditions for patients and staff due to continued overcrowding in the emergency department.

It comes ahead of industrial action on January 27th, when the nurses will stage a work-to-rule if there is no dramatic improvement to the overcrowding.

The INMO industrial relations officer is Lorraine Monaghan. She says they want to highlight the unsafe and distressing situation.

Health Minister Leo Varadkar has said that two extra beds should be placed on hospital wards as it was safer than having up to 40 people on trolleys in emergency departments.

However the INMO disagrees, and say it has already been proven not to work.

Speaking on The Right Hook here on Newstalk, Mr Varadkar admitted the situation could worsen in the next few weeks.

"The second week of January is usually the worst. In the third week of January the junior doctors change over and that makes it a very difficult time in hospitals...we probably have not seen the worst of it," he said.

He agreed with the assertion that the situation is "shameful".