Ten residents at a nursing home in north Dublin that has had public admissions suspended by the Health Service Executive (HSE) have been asked by the home to find alternative accommodation.
The HSE has confirmed it suspended public admissions to St Margaret's nursing home, near Rivermede, last November following inspections.
A spokeswoman for the HSE said: "We have been trying to work with the nursing home to resolve the issues."
But she confirmed that 10 residents had received letters from the nursing home owners last Friday asking them to find alternative accommodation.
A spokesperson for the HSE
One resident who received the letter asking her to leave told ireland.comshe had no alternative accommodation and no possibility of moving in with family members.
The resident, who asked not to be named, said she had been at the home for a number of years as a public patient. She believed public patients were being asked to leave so that the home could be "filled up with private patients".
But officially, the residents were given "no reason" for the request that they find new accommodation, the resident said.
The owner of the home was not immediately available for comment.
According to the HSE, its inspection team carried out a risk assessment at St Margaret's and that its current assessment is that there is no immediate risk to any resident in this home".
"The home is being actively monitored and further action will be taken as necessary," the HSE said in a statement.
The HSE said the imposition of suspensions on public patients was in line with recent public assurances that, where concerns are raised by inspectors about a private nursing home, no beds will then be contracted by the authority with that home until the issues are rectified.
The home will also be advised not to take in privately referred admissions during this period.
There are currently three nursing homes, including St Margaret's, with suspended admissions.