One of the country’s leading forensic psychologists has said the man responsible for raping two girls, aged six and nine, in Westmeath may not have been motivated by sexual desire but by an overwhelming urge to be violent.

The 30-year-old rapist of two children joins 12 other sex offenders serving a life sentence in Irish prisons. While he will be able to start applying for parole after he serves seven years, the average term of life sentences is just over 17 years.

The amount of child abuse imagery on the internet has increased “exponentially” and is expected to grow even more, the EU police agency has warned.

The Government is under pressure to introduce new laws which would help gardaí monitor convicted sex offenders.