Senior management at the Child and Family Agency – Tusla - have been warned that significantly more than 225 children may be at risk due to being in ongoing contact with alleged abusers.
A draft internal report states that most of the agency's area managements do not believe they are effectively protecting children from people who are alleged to have abused in the past.
Last month, Child and Family Agency managers completed their draft report, which has been seen by RTÉ News.
It was commissioned by the agency's top management to find out if cases of so-called "retrospective abuse" are being responded to in a safe and effective manner.
A retrospective abuse case comes into being when an adult reports an allegation or confirmed incident of abuse in his/her childhood.
The report says that in April 2015, 1,204 cases were awaiting allocation to social workers and that by September there were 1,335, an increase of 131.
The authors warn that significantly more than 225 children may be at risk by being in ongoing contact with alleged abusers.
It says five of the agency's 17 areas could not provide an answer to their question on this aspect of the problem without compiling further assessments or information.
The report says the number of cases awaiting allocation to social workers to assess the current threat in April 2015 was 1,204 and that by September it had grown to 1,335 – an increase of 131.
Forty-one retrospective cases were awaiting allocation to social workers for three years or more; 94 were un-allocated for two to three years; 419 for one to two years; and 401 for six to twelve months.
Tusla said it was not in a position to authenticate the document when it had not seen it.
It added that there is an incomplete draft working document with the same title.
It underlined that the data in the document had not been validated and that its contents is being examined by the agency's legal department for compliance with fair procedures.
The agency has objected to the publication of the document by RTE News.
