A letter of apology from the hospital was read to the High Court on Tuesday as his family settled for €300,000 an action over the death of Mr Ferris on his 58th birthday.

Liam Mitchell was 61-years-old when he died at University Hospital Kerry and had been living in Kerry for over three years after moving here from Canada.

The condition of mother and grandmother Helen Fitzgerald from Tralee, Co Kerry, deteriorated, and she died in hospital on June 2nd, 2018

The young man, who cannot be identified by order of the court, had taken a knife when he left the centre and was found later face down in a field with lacerations to both arms and a head injury

84 patients are waiting for beds in University Hospital Limerick, with 36 of these in the emergency department and 48 in wards elsewhere.

INMO industrial relations officer Liam Conway said nurses and midwives at the hospital are "extremely concerned" about what is in store for them this winter due to the 30 vacancies.

The alleged attack happened at a home in Ardfert at around 7:30pm on Saturday morning.