Plea for patience on refugee response

The Irish Red Cross is appealing for continued patience from the public as it works to put procedures in place to process the many offers of accommodation and help that have been pouring in for refugees.

The charity has been asked by the Government to co-ordinate the public response to the crisis amid growing clamour for action to ease the plight of the tens of thousands of desperate refugees still making their way into and across Europe.

With more child deaths in the Mediterranean at the weekend, and fresh scenes of mayhem at the Serbian-Hungarian border yesterday, the public have been expressing deepening concern and eagerness to help.