O'Donovan in intensive care after taking ill on Tuesday

Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport Patrick O'Donovan is in intensive care in hospital after falling ill earlier this week.

It is understood he is being cared for at University Hospital Limerick.

Mr O'Donovan was brought by ambulance to hospital after becoming unwell at an EU Presidency meeting at the University of Limerick (UL) on Tuesday. It is understood that he had a seizure.

He was hospitalised over the summer after becoming unwell during an official trip to Brussels.

The Limerick County TD has previously spoken about having been diagnosed with the neurological condition epilepsy.

Speaking to RTÉ News, Tom Ruddle, Príomh Chomhairleoir of Limerick County Council and a close friend of Mr O'Donovan, said everyone in Newcastle West was rooting for Mr O'Donovan.

"We are praying he will be back shortly and that he will come through this and speedily get back to normal. He has so much to look forward to with the Ryder Cup coming to Limerick", said the Fine Gael councillor.

"He's resilient and we are all thinking of his wife and family", he added.

A newspaper report over the weekend quoted a Fine Gael minister, on condition of anonymity, as saying that "the discussion about whether he [Minister O'Donovan] is well enough to stay in the role is coming for sure".

Mr O'Donovan described the comments as a "slap in the face" from politicians who questioned his competence and health in anonymous quotes in newspapers in the aftermath of a funding row with RTÉ.

"I do think bringing a person's health into public discourse in the manner in which it was, through an anonymous source, is something that I haven't seen before," he said.

He was first elected to the Dáil in 2011, having previously served as a councillor since 2003.