112 children from Belarus have arrived at Shannon Airport to spend the Christmas holidays with host families throughout Munster.
The children all live near the Chernobyl area close to the scene of the world’s worst ever nuclear disaster which occurred 19 years ago.
It is estimated that the three weeks spent by the children in a clean environment with healthy food will considerably boost their immune systems and give them back a year of good health.
However, the director of the Chernobyl Children’s Project, Adi Roche, has warned that this Christmas visit could be their last due to tightening visa restrictions in Ireland and in Belarus.
The changes mean that individual visa endorsements are required for each child instead of the previous system in which visa letters allowed them to travel as a group.
Ms Roche appealed to the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, to not let administrative restrictions prevent the children travelling to Ireland, particularly given the upcoming 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
