The Department of Health will announce a new inquiry into the death of Peter McKenna in coming weeks.
Mr McKenna (60), who had Alzheimer's disease and Down Syndrome, died in October 2000, 13 days after he was transferred from St Michael's House to Leas Cross nursing home in Swords, Co Dublin, against his family's wishes.
He had been looked after for 23 years at St Michael's House which said it could no longer care for him and had to transfer him.
Speaking to The Irish Timesat the weekend, his half-brother Dan Moore said the department had told the family it was establishing a non-judicial inquiry into the circumstances of Mr McKenna's death.
"A senior counsel has been appointed and we are now waiting for the terms of reference. It will be looking into the full circumstances of his death," said Mr Moore.
A previous report, compiled by the former director of the blood bank Martin Hynes and published in November 2005, criticised the manner in which Mr McKenna was handed over to Leas Cross and the failure of St Michael's House to provide clinical back-up to him after he was moved.
St Michael's House criticised the Hynes report, describing it as flawed and saying it had not had an adequate opportunity to make its case. The disability services provider added it would co-operate with the Health Service Executive (HSE) in any "fair" process in the future.
That report established that Mr McKenna had been seen once by the Leas Cross medical officer once he had arrived there.
The medical officer noted it would be difficult to manage him at the home given his high dependency needs.
Despite this, he was placed in a room on his own on the top floor of the home with a call bell he could not operate.
On October 9th, 2000, the day before his transfer to Leas Cross, he had been diagnosed with a urinary retention problem at Beaumont Hospital where a catheter was inserted. He returned to Beaumont for an appointment on October 12th but missed a subsequent one on October 16th to have the catheter removed.
On October 22nd he was rushed to Beaumont Hospital's A&E unit and died later that day. Mr Moore believes his brother died because the catheter had not been removed in time. The cause of his death was recorded as septicaemia. "It was an awful and painful death for Peter," said Mr Moore.
He told The Irish Times the family had been told by St Michael's House of plans to move their brother to Leas Cross "out of the blue one day". He and his sister Mary visited Leas Cross before the transfer and were "appalled".
"Patients were wandering about with their diapers around their ankles. We came back in the car and said, 'Not for our Peter'. We told St Michael's House but then we got a call from the High Court telling us St Michael's House had applied to the court seeking a direction that he be transferred there."
Mr McKenna was a ward of court as he had been left money by an aunt some years previously. The court directed that he be transferred to Leas Cross.
"Peter was not a well man when he left St Michael's, but Leas Cross was not a suitable place for him," said Mr Moore. "As far as we are concerned, as soon as we told St Michael's House we did not want Peter to go to Leas Cross, they went into bullying mode."
St Michael's House has said it acted at all times in the best interests of Mr McKenna and that the plan to move him to Leas Cross had been made in good faith.
