A care organisation sacked a worker for setting off a fire alarm at a care home when boiling eggs and for carrying out to safety a resident from the home instead of evacuating him by wheelchair.

The health watchdog has raised concerns about the privacy and dignity of intellectually disabled residents at homes run by a voluntary organisation in Cheeverstown House, Dublin, where some bedrooms and bathrooms are shared.

MENTAL handicap services at 50 residential care centres could be hit after a nurse’s ballot in favour of industrial action in a dispute over pay.