77 unaccompanied children from Ukraine referred to Tusla
People from Mariupol leave a train to be taken to temporary residences in the Nizhny Novgorod region of Russia on Thursday. The Chief Executive of the Children's Rights Alliance, Tanya Ward, said parents are facing "horrendous, very difficult decisions" to send their children overseas. Photo: AP
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 that she spoke to Tusla today and they informed her that 77 children have been referred to them since the beginning of the war.
"Twenty-eight 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.
"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 facing "horrendous, very difficult decisions" to send their children overseas to keep them safe from conscription and war.
Ms Ward added that we're likely to have higher numbers arriving in Ireland 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."
