The death from scalding of an eight-month-old boy at a Cork centre for asylum-seekers yesterday was not suspicious, gardai have said.
The infant, who was born in Ireland, was living with his parents at Ashbourne House Hotel on the outskirts of Cork city, where up to 80 asylum-seekers are accommodated.
Shortly after 8.30 a.m. yesterday, the infant was in a bedroom with his parents, Ivory Coast nationals, when it is understood the contents of a boiling kettle spilled on him.
The child was rushed to the South Infirmary Hospital, Cork, where staff immediately notified gardai because of the extensive nature of the injuries. The child was pronounced dead a short time later.
A Garda investigation began and the State Pathologist, Dr John Harbison, travelled to Cork last night to perform a postmortem, but this was a purely precautionary measure, a Garda spokesman said.
The child's parents arrived in Ireland almost two years ago.
A spokesman for the asylum service said last night that in view of the tragedy the family would be offered alternative accommodation in the Cork area. The infant was an only child.
The Southern Health Board said it would offer counselling to the family and pay the funeral expenses.
A spokesman for the hotel said staff and other asylum-seekers living there were doing everything possible to comfort the family in its bereavement. "It's a terrible tragedy for them being thousands of miles from home. They are lovely people, and we're all doing our best to help. They've already been in touch with their families in Ivory Coast," the spokesman added.
Last weekend 110 Nigerian asylum-seekers living at the Island View Hostel in Cork were re-housed at various locations throughout Cork, at short notice, after the Directorate of Asylum Support Services closed the hostel because of fire safety concerns.
Last night the Cork North Central TD, Mr Noel O'Flynn (Fianna Fail), called for a thorough examination of the quality of accommodation and facilities offered to asylum-seekers in Cork.