Children's rights campaigners yesterday expressed deep concern over the apparent lack of Garda action on information it received six months ago from Austrian authorities on Irish involvement in a child pornography ring.
Barnardos's director of advocacy Norah Gibbons said it was vital that any evidence relating to child abuse was not "ignored or filed away".
"All of us, but especially those on the front line of child protection, have an obligation to prioritise child safety and when alerted of the potential for abuse that we act upon it - it is not something that should be ignored and filed away," she said.
"If dedicated resources or increased skills are needed to fully meet the challenges new technologies are presenting for child protection, then they should be put in place.
"New communications technologies are only going to become more advanced and sophisticated, as will the methods of those who used these technologies to abuse children. We need to ensure that those of us involved in child protection are equal to the challenge."
She said there was a gap between current child protection practice, procedures and policies and the needs of children who were being sexually abused via these new technologies.
The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) said it was shocked to hear that gardaí did not act immediately on information they received from Austrian authorities.
Ellen O'Malley-Dunlop of the DRCC said: "We are very uneasy about this non-action by the Garda. We need to demand that this will not happen again. We need to know that systems are put in place so that every piece of information that is received is dealt with by a specialist team within the Garda who will act immediately."
The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) reiterated its call for the introduction of clearer international protocols to address and investigate cases of child pornography.
"In particular, international protocols need to be strengthened so information regarding child protection concerns sent from international bodies, such as Interpol, are sent as a priority, and are dealt with and prioritised appropriately when they are received," the ISPCC said in a statement.
"In addition, the ISPCC believes that more resources need to be allocated to Irish investigative systems, including the Garda Vetting Unit and those other intelligence units within the Garda Síochána that are responsible for internet-based crime."
It said research showed there was a clear link between individuals accessing child pornography and the direct sexual abuse of a child.
A US study quoted by the ISPCC indicates that about 36 per cent of people who access child pornography abuse children.
