The Cabinet has agreed the current deal with private hospitals will not be extended beyond the end of June, RTÉ News understands.
It will instead seek to negotiate a new agreement which will allow full access to these hospitals if a second wave of Covid-19 occurs.
This new deal would also provide for the use private hospitals for some non-Covid services. The Department of Public Expenditure and Department of Health are aiming to negotiate this new agreement between now and the end of June.