By Michelle Crean 

A local group have this afternoon said that the decision to move 135 Ukrainians from Killarney - including many young children who have settled into schools - is "almost inhumane". 

Kerry Mental Health Association says that they are "deeply concerned"  and that the "Government needs to reverse the decision in the interest of preserving their mental health". 

"The last thing that Ukrainian women and children who were forced to flee their war-torn country is to relive the trauma of a sudden upheaval from their adopted homes in Killarney," the charity said in a statement. 

"Kerry Mental Health Association is deeply concerned for the mental well-being of 135 Ukrainians who are being forced to move to Co. Mayo after making new homes and friendships in Killarney.

"Many of the Ukrainian women have found employment in Killarney and the surrounding areas while their children and grandchildren have started to form new friendships.

"Kerry Mental Health Association understands the need to accommodate to asylum seekers from other troubled parts of the world, but surely the Government could have been more compassionate in their approach to the Ukrainian families.

"To give two days' notice to families to move to another part of an unfamiliar country is almost inhumane and Kerry Mental Health Association says the Government needs to reverse the decision in the interest of preserving their mental health."