An umbrella group of children's rights organisations has urged the Government to introduce a scheme for vetting staff in the community and voluntary sector to help prevent child abuse.
The measure is one of four "key steps to protect children" which the Children's Rights Alliance is seeking in the coming year.
The alliance, which represents 72 non-governmental organisations, including Barnardos, the ISPCC, Focus Ireland and the Society of St Vincent de Paul, says the four measures should be adopted as quickly as possible and "be supported with adequate resources".
The other measures demanded are the introduction of training for both statutory and non-statutory staff on safety guidelines, the employment of an adequate complement of social service and childcare workers to respond to children's protection and counselling needs, and the establishment of a Child Death Review Committee to guarantee the examination of the circumstances of unexpected child deaths.
In a statement coinciding with the World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse yesterday, the alliance said there had been at least 21 instances of fatal abuse of children in Ireland in the past two years.
The appeal coincided with yesterday's announcement in the UK of a fresh crackdown on sex offenders. The British Home Secretary, Mr David Blunkett, said offenders would be subject to increased monitoring once released from prison. A new criminal offence of "grooming" is also planned to allow police arrest adults who befriend children with the intention of abusing them.
The alliance has separately called on the Government to honour Universal Children's Day, which is marked by the UN today, by keeping its promises on child benefit in next month's Budget.
Mr Raymond Dooley, the alliance's chief executive, said cancelling or postponing the third stage of the child benefit programme would save the Government €413 million. But "such savings would come at the expense of families with children, including the poorest families who have seen their child dependant allowances effectively frozen for years".
He said: "The pressures on the Budget are very real and the choices are not easy but the Government still has major revenue and spending options available to it." Trade-offs, he said, "should be made after, and not before, the needs of children have been addressed".
