A report from the Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland has indicated an increase in the number of reports of illegal child pornography found on the internet.
The association operates an online service to which 2,677 complaints were made last year.
The number of cases in which illegal content was found by the association increased by over 10% in 2006 to 423.
None of the illegal material was traced to sources in Ireland.
Furthermore, Ireland's 'clean record' is confirmed by another 26 affiliated hotlines around the world who found that no illegal material reported to them was located here.
Despite the increase in reports, there is an indication that the amount of child pornography which can be openly encountered on the Internet may be slowing down.
This is based on the percentage of reports confirmed by the hotline as referring to child pornography.
Paul Durrant, ISPAI General Manager, has appealed to members of the public to report spam which may be promoting child pornography sites.
He said despite the large amount of spam people are receiving, they should remain observant and report any suspect material.
The www.hotline.ie website is run by the ISPAI in an effort to combat child pornography.
It also accepts reports of other illegal content such as incitement to racial hatred and Internet fraud schemes.
