The Department of Children and Equality has confirmed to Hot Press the death of a male asylum seeker in Co Kerry. The man was a resident of Atlas House Direct Provision Centre in Killarney. His body was found “near the Tralee area”, a spokesperson said.

“The Department extends its sympathies to the next of kin and friends of the deceased person at their time of loss.”

They did not confirm suicide as the cause of death. However, those who were closest to the man say he died by suicide.

“All queries regarding the investigation of this death should be directed to An Garda Síochána,” the Department said.

“An Garda Síochána does not comment on named entities,” a spokesperson for the Gardaí told Hot Press.

The time of death was not immediately known.

FEARFUL OF BEING DEPORTED

Residents of the centre knew the late asylum seeker as Jeffrey. He was, Hot Press has been told, a US citizen who had recently been served with a deportation order. It is understood that the asylum seeker was also grappling with mental health difficulties, probably long-term in nature.

“He was very scared to go back to the USA,” one resident of the Kerry centre said. “Then he started living in the ‘jungle’ next to Atlas House, where his body was found.”

“He didn’t seem to have any friends,” the resident added.

When asked about the accuracy of claims about the recent deportation order, a spokesperson for the Department of Children and Equality declined to comment.

“To do so would be in breach of the International Protection Act, 2015,” they said.

Residents in Atlas House, which historically was just one of a number of direct provision centres in Co. Kerry, told Hot Press that the man appeared to be in his forties. He was ‘quiet’, they said.

Jeffrey had told other residents at the centre that he was receiving ‘threats’ from the US. He was fearful of being deported to his home country, according to residents. The consensus is that mental health issues may have played a part in exacerbating these fears.

TROUBLE AT MOUNT TRENCHARD

Jeffrey was a former resident of a controversial Limerick-based Direct Provision Centre, where he had reportedly protested about poor living conditions, during his almost two-year stint.

The Mount Trenchard direct provision centre at Foynes, Co Limerick has since closed. However, it was the subject of sustained criticism since 2014, when shabby living conditions at the accommodation first became known.

“The poor treatment of men with mental health issues” at Mount Trenchard was among the concerns raised at the time, according to a 2014 report in The Irish Times.

Some former residents had claimed the accommodation was used as a sort of "punishment centre" for troublesome – or troubled – asylum seekers, though this was always strenuously denied by the Department of Justice.

The centre was finally closed earlier this year. The decision was welcomed by migrant advocacy groups like Doras, who warned that conditions at Mount Trenchard will have left lasting psychological scars on former residents.

A centre was also closed in Cahersiveen, Co. Kerry, following extensive coverage of serious issues that arose there, both in Hot Press and other national and local media outlets.

The current Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Green Party coalition government has promised to launch a vulnerability assessment programme to identify vulnerable asylum seekers, as part of its wider efforts to improve conditions in Direct Provision centres across the State.
The coalition has promised to end the Direct Provision system completely by the end of the Government's lifetime.

DEATH IN DIRECT PROVISION

Connecting for Life, Ireland’s National Strategy to Reduce Suicide 2015-2020, confirms a significant deficit in studies documenting suicidal behaviour in asylum seekers, refugees, migrants and sex workers.

“Further research is required in those groups,” the document says.

Between 2007 to 2017, forty asylum seekers have died in Direct Provision.

“Where a person sadly dies while they are being provided with accommodation by IPAS, the Department works closely with the centre management to assist the person’s next-of-kin, if known, in accessing the full supports provided by the State,” says a spokesperson for the Department of Children and Equality.

Jeffrey's death follows another tragic incident in late August, when Muhammad Arif Ahrar, an Afghan asylum seeker, died of suicide following a Covid-19-related self-isolation stint in an emergency Direct Provision centre in Co Monaghan.

The mental health cost of the coronavirus pandemic on vulnerable groups, who are without support networks in the State, is believed to be very significant, although there have not been any studies to assess the impact accurately.

A spokesperson for the Department of Children and Equality told Hot Press that appropriate care and support is provided for asylum seekers when a resident at their centre dies.

“We would also note that great care and compassion should be taken in reporting such incidents, especially on social media platforms, in order to allow the family and friends of the person concerned to be notified by relevant authorities and to afford them the necessary privacy to come to terms with such a tragic event,” said a spokesperson.

The Department oversees the management of International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS), a former subsidiary of the Department of Justice, since mid-October.

• Suicide prevention hotlines can provide support to anyone affected by the sensitive topics raised in this article. Call Samaritans Freephone 116 123 or email [email protected].

Feature image credit: Facebook / Abolish Direct Provision Ireland