A group of sick people were left waiting in the cold at a coronavirus test centre but professionals never showed up.
The HSE confirmed a text message communication error lead to the confusion.
Dublin musician Ger Foley, 51, told how he waited 10 days for a Covid-19 test at Tallaght Stadium, on Sunday only for nobody to show up.
The heart failure patient arrived half an hour early for his 9.20am test but was left in a freezing car park along with several others.
He said: “When I arrived around five of us were there early, all checking our times.
“By 10am there were about 35 to 40 cars there. Nobody knew what was happening.
“I left at 10.10am. Everyone was talking among themselves in complete disbelief that this was happening.
“There was a little old man waiting there who’d walked all the way from home as there were no buses before 9am. Seeing him so confused and the look of fear on his face, that was so cruel.
“It was so cold and he was evidently chesty and struggling. He was very afraid.”
In a statement to Dublin Live, the HSE said a communication error led to no testers showing up.
It added: “All appointments that were made for today were cancelled by text message and rescheduled.
“Unfortunately some of these cancellation texts which were due to be sent on Saturday morning were not delivered and we apologise for any inconvenience caused by these cancellations and for the text messages which were not delivered.
“The failure of the text messaging system to deliver cancellation texts is being fully investigated to resolve the issue.
"At the weekend the supply of testing materials was limited. A delivery of testing kits is due today and there will be further deliveries during the week. These will be distributed as soon as possible.”
