Hospitals across the State had overspent their budgets by €161 million at the end of August, latest figures show.
This means they overspent by an additional €22 million between July and August, even after some initial value for money procedures were due to have been put in place.
The figures, which have been circulated to members of the board of the Health Service Executive and which have been seen by The Irish Times, show the biggest overspend was at Dublin's Tallaght hospital, which had overspent its budget by €20.2 million at the end of August.
Beaumont Hospital, also in Dublin, had overspent its budget by some €19 million.
Figures for September are not yet available. The HSE introduced a total ban on recruitment in early September in an attempt to try and break even by the end of the year and it remains to be seen if this will have a significant effect on reducing its overall deficit, which at the end of August was running at €230 million, when overspending in community care services are also taken into account.
It is likely Tallaght and Beaumont hospitals will have to introduce a wide range of cost-cutting measures before the end of the year to rein in their overspending as Minister for Health Mary Harney has insisted there will be no extra money provided to bail them out.
The latest figures also show the Mater hospital had overspent by €13.2 million at the end of August, St James's by €12.7 million and St Vincent's by €8.7 million.
Outside of Dublin the most significant overspending was by hospitals in the west and northwest. Sligo General Hospital, which recently announced it was letting up to 40 staff go to cut costs, had overspent by €11.4 million, while Galway's University College Hospital, where breast cancer and laboratory services have been reduced, had overspent by €11.8 million.
The amount overspent by Mayo General Hospital stood at €8.9 million.
Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda and Cavan General Hospital had overspent by more than €6 million, as had Temple Street Children's Hospital and Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, Dublin.
At Cork University Hospital overspending at the end of August stood at €5.7 million, while at Waterford Regional Hospital it stood at €2 million and at Limerick Regional Hospital €1 million.
The three hospitals in the midlands at Mullingar, Portlaoise and Tullamore, where services have also been cut to rein in costs, had overspent by more than €5 million.
HSE sources have indicated that in some instances extra staff were taken on during August to cover for staff holidays and this drove up costs. Furthermore some hospitals had three pay periods for staff during August which also fuelled overruns.
The HSE also points out that some of the overspending is as a result of hospitals seeing more patients this year than had been budgeted for.
Health service unions have called on the Minister for Finance to provide supplementary funding to avoid cutbacks.