Back in October 2022, when it became apparent that the government had made a serious error when it insisted that there should be no limit to the number of Ukrainian refugees this small island could take, the people of Kerry began to give voice to the strain of being forced to host more than 10,000 refugees and asylum claimants in that county alone.
The Ukrainian arrivals meant the population of the popular holiday destination town of Killarney had soared almost by a quarter in months, and tourism was being badly damaged by the pivot from hotel beds to asylum provision. “We have to stop at this stage,” Dr Gary Stack, who was managing a full-to-bursting medical practice in the town, said. “If we keep loading numbers in, everything will collapse.”
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