The Government has been accused of failing children on many levels, and of lagging behind in implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The criticisms come in a report by the Children's Rights Alliance which also calls for the age of consent to be clarified.
In another development, the European Parliament has voted to tighten legislation to address sexual exploitation of children and child pornography throughout the European Union.
The legislation provides for a temporary or permanent ban on convicted child sex offenders taking a job involving supervision of children.
Under the legislation, national authorities will be obliged to provide information on penalties for sex offences against children in criminal records, which can be consulted by any other member state on request.
Welcoming the new law, Dublin MEP Gay Mitchell said the Government must make the safety of children in Ireland 'an absolute priority to protect them from sex offenders'.
