Up to 800 volunteer Irish families asked to confirm if they want to host asylum seekers

Up to 800 Irish families, community groups, and organisations that have offered to accommodate and help migrants will be asked again if they want to host asylum seekers, following the Paris attacks.

A decision to clarify with Irish volunteers whether they will still take in migrants fleeing war-torn regions comes as a special taskforce is set to decide on planned emergency shelters in the coming days.

The Irish Examiner has also learnt the first 20 to 30 Syrian refugees will be resettled in Ireland over the coming weeks. Ireland has committed to taking in 4,000 migrants over two years, as part of an EU programme which will see a total 160,000 migrants settled across member states.