Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has called for an independent investigation into the communication breakdown between the Attorney General and the Department of Justice.
"All of the State's offices are involved here. The Attorney General, the DPP and the Department of Justice. If there's nothing to hide in this then why not appoint a retired, respected person to do a complete independent, forensic examination," he told RTÉ's Six One news.
Mr Kenny said the Government's appointment of a special rapporteur for child protection was an "indication of an admission of a type of failure, with no acceptance of responsibility".
"It's an attempt to get away from a serious systems failure that should now be assessed completely independently... The important thing is to get this right."
Mr Kenny said that, despite repeated requests, he had not been told by Government how many statutory rape cases were disrupted by the change in law.
"The Government has not provided that information and I think it's a very serious issue."
