Gardaí have called for greater international co-operation between police forces and social networking websites to help crack down on the spread of child abuse images.
The call was made at a conference in Dublin on Internet Safety for Children, organised by the Children at Risk in Ireland group.
At present, gardaí and other international police forces need to get strict legal permission to access information, and sometimes even have to pay a fee.
A survey carried out by the British Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre found that 15% of paedophiles' grooming activities take place on social networking websites.
Detective Sergeant Michael Lynch of the Garda Paedophile Investigation Unit said the fact that these companies operate in different countries means gardaí must use the long and time-consuming Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.
Michael Moran, Criminal Intelligence Officer with Interpol, said they are working to improve relations.
