Joseph Mansfield, a 42year-old Dublin man, was advised to apply for his release by doctors at St Brendan's Hospital in Grangegorman. He has been detained in the hospital ever since suffering a brain injury during a road accident eight years ago, but claims he is not in need of full-time care.

Mansfield has applied to the court to go and live with his brother in the southwest of England. A previous application to leave Ireland to live with his brother was rejected by the court, which ruled that no satisfactory care plan was in place in England.

After his accident, Mansfield was admitted to St Brendan's following a High Court ruling. He is a ward of court and can be discharged only if this status is changed.

In an application to the High Court submitted last month, Mansfield claimed he is being held captive by the court ruling and pleaded to be able to discharge himself so he can live with his brother.

The man's doctor, Serena Condon, confirmed to the Sunday Tribune that she had recommended that he apply to have his ward of court status revoked to allow him leave the hospital permanently.

Condon will submit a psychiatric assessment of Mansfield to the court over the next few weeks.

Mansfield was first placed in institutional care in 1998 after he sustained brain injuries in a car accident. He was awarded 300,000 in an out-of-court settlement following the accident. However, due to his status as a ward, this money is controlled by the court and Mansfield must apply to the court to get access to it. He recently applied for money to travel to England for a holiday, but was turned down.

"I feel like I am being kept here for no reason, " he said.

"I am well and I shouldn't be in hospital. I am allowed to come and go during the day, but I am taking up a bed in the hospital that should be used for somebody who needs it. I am a well patient."

Although he is able to leave the hospital during the day, Mansfield must return to St Brendan's every night. The court allows him a weekly allowance of 200.

Mansfield has applied to the court to have his ward of court status revoked. If successful, he says he will move to England and live with his brother, who settled in the southwest of the country a number of years ago.

"I want to go over to England and live with my brother for a while until I can get set up on my own, " he said. "I have no life in Ireland because everything is being controlled by the court. I am just a prisoner."

His brother, Michael Mansfield, says he cannot understand the court's refusal to allow his brother to travel to England, even temporarily.

"It is very frustrating because there is no need for him to be in institutional care.

They wouldn't even let him travel over to England for a holiday to see his family. We want him to live with us in England, so it's very hard to have to see him living in a hospital."