Warm Irish welcome for Malta asylum seekers

The 10 asylum seekers who left Malta for Ireland recently will soon be offered state accommodation, the UN Human Rights agency has said.

Neil Falzon, head of the UNHCR office in Malta, is monitoring the situation of the people transferred from Malta to Ireland.

"We want to ensure everything is moving well and to support the Maltese and the receiving governments in these initiatives," Mr Falzon told The Times.

The Irish government's Reception and Integration Agency confirmed that the individuals were currently being accommodated in one of the Dublin area reception facilities where their health was screened.

They have the same rights as other resettled refugees, which includes social benefits and the right to work and to education.

Their start to a new life was somewhat different to that of the six asylum seekers - Eritreans and Somalis - who were accepted by Lithuania last month.

The freezing temperatures in the Baltic country found the immigrants unprepared leading to the hospitalisation of two children.