Approximately 77 unaccompanied minors have arrived in Ireland from Ukraine since war broke out in the country, according to chief executive of the Children's Rights Alliance Tanya Ward.
Ms Ward told RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne show that she spoke to Tusla today, who informed her that 77 children had been referred to them since the beginning of the war.
"28 are now currently in their care, at this moment in time, because some of those children have been reunified with family members that happened to be here," she said.
"We wouldn't have expected a lot of unaccompanied minors to come to Ireland to be honest, because it's more appropriate for them to be cared for by people who speak the same language, closer to home really, so they can be reunified with their family members where possible."
However, Ms Ward said some parents are faced with "horrendous, very difficult decisions" to send their children overseas to keep them safe from conscription and war.
She added that Ireland is likely to see higher numbers of refugees arriving in the coming weeks and months.
"I think making sure that Tusla is able to locate those children, they're able to find accommodation options for them, and hopefully more foster care situations because that's the most successful way to look after an unaccompanied minor once they arrive in the country."
