THE BODY OF a man who killed himself after his social welfare was stopped and he ran  up an ESB bill is to be sent home to his family in Slovakia.

Irish donors have raised more than €14,000 so that the remains of Stefan Adami, a 55-year-old father of four, can be repatriated by his widow Emilia. Mr Adami had been sending money home to his family since his move to Ireland in 2007 for work but had been injured in a farm accident here in 2008. His injured leg became infected and was amputated. Mrs Adami came to Ireland at the start of this year to care for her husband.

The Irish Independent reported yesterday that Mr Adami’s disability allowance was cut because he did not present himself and his wife at the dole office and the couple ran up an ESB bill of €648.54 in their flat at Tullow, Co Carlow. A friend of the Adamis suggested that Stefan had either been too depressed or did not understand the letter from his dole office because of his difficulties with the English language.

Stefan was found hanging from a tree two miles from his home on Monday. His adult children, who earn just €75 each a month in Slovakia, could not afford to fly their father’s body home. The Adamis’ story emerged on RTE Radio 1′s Liveline as family friends appealed for funds to bring Stefan’s body to his homeland. Joe Duffy told listeners yesterday that thousands of euro had been lodged to an account set up in a Liveline bank account in Montrose in aid of the Adamis.