Gardaí working in the Cork City Division say they are weighed down with paperwork, understaffed in comparison with other divisions, and have been stripped of frontline officers who have not been replaced when transferred to new specialist units.

A new unit manned by specially trained gardaí to investigate sexual crimes and domestic violence is to be established in the West Cork region.

Specialist gardaí have received allegations that a five-year-old girl may have been subjected to potential “sexualised behaviour” involving up to three boys aged between seven and 10.

Three teenage female college students have been raped in Cork since the start of the university term.

No date has been given for the opening of a unit for victims of domestic abuse, trafficking, and sexual assault in West Cork, despite repeated promises.

The number of people reporting sexual assaults and rape is on the rise in Cork city, according to new figures.