New laws to curb teens having sex at an early age will be considered by the inaugural Oireachtas Committee on Child Protection, which met for the first time today.
The all-party body was set up after the Supreme Court struck down a 1935 law on underage rape which prompted a political crisis until emergency legislation was rushed through the Dail to plug the loophole.
Peter Power TD heads the committee which also comprises Minister for Justice Michael McDowell, Minister for Children Brian Lenihan, the Labour Party's justice spokesman Brendan Howlin and Fine Gael TDs Olwyn Enright and Jim O'Keeffe.
The committee will also consider whether a constitutional referendum is necessary to deal with the outcome of the Supreme Court judgment.
The Limerick East solicitor and parent said today: "The premature sexualisation of young teenagers is a modern-day phenomenon driven by the mass media which puts pressure on them to become sexually active at a very early age.
"This scenario could not have been foreseen by legislators in the past and this whole area will be closely examined by the committee."
Mr Power also said in today's opening statement to the all-party body in Leinster House: "Practically every parent in the country abhors the trend towards the premature sexualisation of our young children in circumstances where their physical maturity outstrips their emotional maturity.
"Those charged with the protection of children will be looking to our committee to provide reassurance that our laws are strong enough to deal decisively with those intent upon shattering the lives and the innocence of young children through sexual abuse and rape.
"Where those laws are not strong enough we'll be required to put forward proposals to make them so.
"The state has a huge obligation to ensure that all of our laws and our Constitution are robust enough to protect our children fully in a rapidly changing world."
It is the first time Government ministers have been nominated to serve as members of an Oireachtas committee.
The Dail has mandated the committee to produce a comprehensive report by November 30th.
Mr Power said that the Criminal Law Amendment Act, which the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional, was the cornerstone of the state's child protection laws.
"This has tilted the Constitutional balance of protection," he explained. "One of our key tasks is to decide whether the Supreme Court has swung that Constitutional protection too much in favour of the accused and in a manner not in accordance with society's current views on child protection.
"To put it as its simplest - does our Constitution, as now interpreted, provide better protection to the abuser or to the child? Can our Constitution protect both of these conflicting interests equally? Will that require a change in the Constitution?"
Mr Power said the Supreme Court decision in May had unleashed a broad range of complex and fundamental issues not just for the Government or the Oireachtas but also for parents and society as a whole.
"The conclusions and recommendations made by the committee will say a lot about where we are as a society compared to where we were when the law provided an absolute legal protection for our children," he added.
The committee has also been asked to consider how the criminal justice system can be made more protective of the rights of children.