Five new refugee families in Kerry

KERRY County Council has confirmed to The Kerryman that five refugee families, a total of 28 refugees, have been welcomed to the county in the last fortnight.

All 28 refugees are from the war-torn nations of Iraq and Syria, and have previously been in a refugee camp in Lebanon.

More than 80 refugees from 17 families, all originally from either Syria or Iraq, have arrived in Kerry since November 2015.

Four of Kerry’s 17 families are being housed in Killarney, with the other thirteen residing in Tralee. Killarney had been scheduled to accommodate six families in winter 2015, but could only take two as a result of difficulties in renting housing for them.

4,000 refugees are to be accepted nationally across an initial two-year period that started in late 2015. The Kerryman was informed by the council that the Department of Justice has not yet confirmed how many of that national figure will be housed in Kerry.

The children who’ve arrived have been assigned to local schools and childcare facilities, while English language classes are being organised for adults.

An interagency group consisting of Kerry County Council, the HSE, Kerry Education & Training Board, An Garda Síochána and the Department of Social Protection is on hand to assist the families with any issues that may arise.

While the state has agreed to accept 4,000 people under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme – including 2,620 from migrant hotspots in Italy and Greece - thus far only 261 refugees have arrived in the country.

The majority of these – 251 people – are Syrian refugees who arrived from Lebanon and Jordan.