There were 308 cases of children going missing while in state care last year.
They were all aged between 9 and 17, and were in residential care with Tusla.
The Child and Family Agency says the majority of children go missing for less than 24 hours.
But the Chief Executive of Barnardos, Suzanne Connolly, says it's very worrying when any child goes missing in state care:
"The real concern when children go missing in state care is they may be getting into contact with older peer groups where they'll be getting involved for example, in taking drugs which puts them at risk. They may also be vulnerable to sexual exploitation. They may have older adults who may be looking to groom them. So it's extremely worrying when children and young people do go missing because some of them are very vulnerable to getting involved in that type of activity."
