The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) has called for the immediate introduction of stringent vetting procedures for those seeking to work with children.
The call comes in the wake of revelations in today's Irish Timesthat the official sex offenders' register is growing by an average of 20 names per month since it was introduced in September 2001. This is four times the rate of growth of the UK equivalent.
The Irish register currently contains the names of 338 people. The British register, which has been running since 1997, lists about 15,500 sex offenders.
According to the ISPCC, the rate of growth shows there are significant numbers of people who represent a "real and ongoing risk" to children.
"We couldn't get a clearer message that we need tight, adequate vetting procedures to ensure that people who are at risk to children don't attempt to get into employment with children," said Mr Paul Gilligan, ISPCC Chief Executive.
He conceded, however, that the high rate of offenders could in part be due to the fact that the register has only been in use for 18 months and also because of recent Garda successes in prosecuting people on child pornography charges.
However, he said the disparity between vetting systems in different countries is concerning, particularly given the freedom of movement within the EU and between Ireland and the UK.
"It may be that convicted offenders are moving to this jurisdiction or there simply could be a higher number of sex offenders living in this country, we don't know."
