Reaction: Children's charity Barnardos welcomed yesterday's Supreme Court judgment but said that any doubts over the protection of children in current legislation had to be removed.
The organisation, which works with children under threat and campaigns for their rights, said it was pleased the judgment would prevent the release of perpetrators convicted under the struck-down statutory rape law.
However, Barnardos said it was still concerned by the defence of "honest mistake".
As long as the defence is in place, many already traumatised children will continue to be cross-examined by lawyers, with their demeanour, dress and appearance coming under scrutiny, Barnardos said.
"We are concerned that children or young persons will be turned into exhibits of courts," said Barnardos' director of advocacy Norah Gibbons.
"This may discourage victims from coming forward in future. This case has illustrated just how much children need the full protection of the law and that means starting at the supreme source of law in this country - the Constitution."
Barnardos is now calling for the Government to make an amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing a commitment to the protection of children's rights.
"We want to see the rights of children, and indeed adults, carefully represented," Ms Gibbons said.
The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre said it was "not good enough" that Mr A will be released from prison in January next year, and it called for a full review of sentencing for sexual offences.
It also welcomed the Supreme Court's judgments which explain the decision by the court to grant an appeal by the State and allowed Mr A to be re-arrested.
The centre's chief executive Ellen O'Malley-Dunlop said: "We appreciate the complexity of this whole area from a legal perspective. From the perspective of the victims of sexual abuse and violence, it is a welcome response."
Ms O'Malley-Dunlop added: "It is not good enough that this man will be freed in January 2007. Sentencing to date of sexual offenders is badly in need of review, as well as the whole area relating to sexual offences."
The 41-year-old man at the centre of yesterday's judgment was serving three years for the statutory rape of a 12-year-old girl but was released in the wake of a Supreme Court decision which found statutory rape legislation to be unconstitutional.
After he was released by the High Court, the State appealed the decision to the Supreme Court which found that he should not have been released.
The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre also welcomed the establishment of an all-party Oireachtas committee, which is to review the issue.
The centre, along with One in Four, CARI and the Cork Sexual Violence Centre earlier this month met Minister for Justice Michael McDowell to call for the terms of reference of the committee to be extended.
"We will be making separate submissions to the committee and we expect that the expanded terms of reference will be taken into consideration," Ms O'Malley-Dunlop said.
"We also suggested that a mapping strategy be developed whereby the broader issues are identified and dealt with over time.
"We also suggested that this committee becomes a standing committee that can be informed by groups similar to ourselves, on an on-going basis," she said.