Kerry delays accepting six Syrian families over housing

County council faced with lack of available properties in Killarney

Syrian refugees awaiting relocation from Jordan. Photograph: AP Photo/Raad Adayleh
Syrian refugees awaiting relocation from Jordan. Photograph: AP Photo/Raad Adayleh

Kerry County Council, which housed six Syrian refugee families last week, has had to delay accepting six more families because of the difficulties it has faced in renting properties for them.

Killarney and Tralee were chosen as the locations for the families, but 10 of the families already housed or expected shortly will be accommodated in Tralee because of the lack of properties available in Killarney.

It had been hoped to have all 12 families, numbering some 43 people, arrive last week but accommodation had to be finalised, John Breen, director of services for housing in Kerry said.

Up to 17 more Syrian families are due in Kerry in early 2016. So far, the six newly arrived families were making “a smooth transition”, said the council’s director of housing, John Breen.

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The council is struggling to find houses not just for refugees but also for the 4,000 locals.