The HSE is expecting to ramp up the number of coronavirus tests being carried out from today.
A new online system is being rolled out so GPs can order tests for their patients.
Some doctors will be canceling their normal surgeries as a result.
Forty new cases of covid-19 were confirmed yesterday in the Republic. It was the biggest daily increase in coronavirus cases for the second day in a row.
A total of 169 people have now tested positive in the south, with a further 45 in Northern Ireland.
Out of hours services were flooded with calls over the weekend.
President of the Irish Medical Organisation, Dr Padraig McGarry, says it means there will probably be a backlog this morning;
"Patients shouldn't be ringing up looking for a test unless they really have clinical symptoms, however what is much more important I think is that patients who have respiratory symptoms should self-isolate."
