Eleven nursing homes closed in the last two years following inspections by the State’s health watchdog, it has emerged.

A mystery illness has claimed the lives of six elderly people at a nursing home in less than a fortnight, including five in the past five days.

The Leas Cross Action group, which represents the victims of the Leas Cross controversy, is calling for accountability for what happened at the north Dublin home.

New legislation will set up a strict inspection regime for nursing homes so a Leas Cross scandal will never happen again, Health Minster Mary Harney said today.

Health authorities knew about care abuse of elderly residents at Leas Cross nursing home almost a year before a Prime Time documentary exposed it on RTE, Fine Gael claimed today.