The Irish Red Cross staff is operating a reception base at Shannon Airport for refugees from Ukraine.
Refugees are arriving on flights six days of the week from Poland and Hungary.
Shannon airport staff have provided dedicated airport rooms and refugees are offered them basic items of food clothing and personal hygiene items, and also a quiet room with facilities like internet services, phone rechargers and soft toys for the children, and signs about services in their own language.
Many have had traumatic journeys to reach Ireland and this care is given before they continue to accommodation with the help of the the International Protection Accommodation services unit – part of the Department of Children. The unit has contracted over 2,500 hotel rooms across the country to provide a base for refugees for the short term. International students at the Shannon College of Hotel management have also volunteered their services as translators. The college is also offering English language classes, cultural immersion and European adaption programmes. Support hubs have now opened in Dublin and Cork, and a third will open in Limerick city next week to help process the needs of families when they arrive, giving them PPS numbers, permission letters and establishing education links for children, and easing the administrative needs they have to stay here.
