Asylum staff at risk of anxiety and depression from traumatic cases
Ken Foxe
Staff processing asylum applications are at risk of anxiety, depression and insomnia because of exposure to traumatic personal stories and graphic material.
A formal risk assessment at the International Protection Office (IPO) said staff could suffer emotional distress and “empathy fatigue” because of the nature of their work.
It said psychological injuries could build up over time or result from a single significant exposure to very disturbing material.
The assessment gave the hazard a high-risk rating before safeguards were considered to help staff cope with challenges at work.
Internal documents said employees could be exposed to traumatic material while interviewing, reading case files, or viewing images.
It explained how somebody giving their life story in person could be much more difficult than simply reading their file.
The risk assessment said: “Hearing a personal account is different to reading about it or peer reviewing someone else’s report.”
Measures in place to protect staff included rotating them away from sensitive material and taking account of how many cases of a particular type they dealt with.
Officials were also offered time buffers between interviews. “This is particularly important after a difficult encounter,” said the risk analysis.
Trigger warnings were also placed on files involving highly sensitive material like domestic violence, according to records released under FOI.
A separate action plan said officials were examining ways to reduce exposure to disturbing digital content, including the greyscaling of graphic images and the possible use of AI tools.
Other proposals discussed in the documents included weekly team debriefs, one-to-one wellbeing sessions, specialist trauma support and the refurb of a staff wellness room.
One risk assessment said steps should be taken to minimise the number of personnel “required to view graphic images".
Asked about the records, a Department of Justice spokesperson said the health and wellbeing of staff was a “top priority".
They said: “Under the Department’s health and safety risk management system, the International Protection Office (IPO) division has been allocated a medium rating for residual risk.
“A medium rating is an internal indicator that ensures psychological hazards continue to receive ongoing attention and regular monitoring by managers, senior leadership and the Department’s Health and Safety Unit.”
The spokesperson added that around €15,000 had been spent over the past three years on a confidential support and counselling service for IPO staff and panel members.
