They're urging as many people as possible to get the flu vaccine over the next few days.
The HSE is warning the latest strain of flu is the most severe strain in years.
A new memo presented to Ministers is showing around 700 to 1,500 hospital beds are to be occupied by flu patients over the next few weeks.
Almost 2,000 cases were recorded in the last week of November by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, up by 118% on the previous week.
Regional Clinical Director OF HSE Dublin and Midlands, Professor Paul Ridgeway says improvements to the system need to come around faster:
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