The owners of the Rostrevor nursing home in Dublin have failed in a court bid to stop the dispersal of residents from the facility following its takeover by the HSE.

The HSE took charge of the home on Friday after the Health Information and Quality Authority obtained an interim order in the District Court to effectively shut down the facility. The HSE is now trying to find alternative placements for the residents.

Hiqa obtained the order after filing a sworn affidavit which detailed how it had been informed of allegations of serious physical and verbal abuse of elderly residents in the private nursing home dating back to mid-2008.

Today Gavin Ralston SC, for the home, said his clients were anxious that residents not be moved out of the home on the basis of an interim court order granted on foot of an ex-parte application. He added that there were residents in the home who had expressed a desire to remain there.

He believed the District Court "went too far" in making the order which allowed the HSE to made alternative arrangements for residents in the nursing home.

Eoin McCullough SC, for Hiqa, said the court did not have jurisdiction to deal with the application brought before it by the home. He said an interim order had been made by the District Court and the matter would be back before that court next week or the week after for a final order and that was the time for the home to set out its case.

He said an appeal could only be brought to the Circuit Court once a final determination had been made by the District Court.

Furthermore, he said it was impossible to see how one could complain about the HSE doing something that it was statutorily obliged to do, which was to take charge of the home and make alternative arrangements for residents, once the interim order had been granted.

He added that the only evidence before the court was the affidavit filed by Hiqa which referred to risks to residents in the home. Mr Ralston's submission that some residents expressed a desire to remain in the home was not evidence, he said.

Circuit Court President Mr Justice Matthew Deery ruled the court did not have jurisdiction to hear the application. He refused the application and awarded Hiqa and the HSE their costs.

He also said he did not believe the District Court had in any way exceeded its authority in directing the HSE to make alternative arrangements for residents in Rostrevor nursing home.