A second group of ethnic Albanian refugees arrived at Dublin Airport yesterday and were accommodated in Co Kildare and Co Wicklow.
In all, 157 refugees arrived on yesterday afternoon's flight, which was chartered by the UN agency, the International Organisation for Migration. They were flown from the Stankovic One camp near Skopje in Macedonia, where they have been living since fleeing ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.
Yesterday's arrivals "all appeared to be in good health", according to a spokesman. "How ever, they've come through a very traumatic time over the past few weeks and to some extent that showed." The refugees were transferred from the airport by coach to temporary accommodation in a former Army barracks in Co Kildare and a former convent in Baltinglass, Co Wicklow.
The spokesman said it was difficult to be precise about the ages of people on board the flight, but there appeared to be 22 families including around 80 adults, at least 65 children and 11 infants. Yesterday's group was, on average, younger than the group which arrived on Sunday and mostly comprised young parents in their early to mid-30s and their children. The Department of Foreign Affairs is making efforts to house families from the same Kosovan village at the same location in the State where possible.
The refugees who arrived at Farranfore Airport in Co Kerry early on Tuesday are said by the Department to be "settling in very well". They included 22 families and were housed in the Atlas House Hostel in Killarney and Drishane Castle, near Millstreet, Co Cork.
They received their first Social Welfare payments on Wednesday, and were taken on a shopping trip to Dunnes Stores in Killarney. They had medical check-ups yesterday "to ensure all their mental and physical health needs are catered for," a Departmental spokesman said.
More flights are expected to arrive at the rate of one or two a week. These arrivals are likely to be housed in Waterford and Cork.
