Society must respond to risks of online child abuse, say groups.

Child support services have welcomed a commitment from the Government to move ahead with plans for a digital safety commissioner and steps to improve online protection.

Childline is asking people to consider donating to the charity as part of their New Year's Resolutions.

Some of the hundreds of troubled children who called Childline on Christmas Day just wanted to say thanks to the volunteers for being there for them.

Last-minute Christmas shoppers have been warned to avoid fake and potentially dangerous toys as rogue traders exploit demand for sold-out ‘must-have’ gifts.

Gardaí need greater powers to protect children from online predators including the ability to obtain data from companies such as Facebook and Microsoft.

More than two-thirds of primary school teachers do not feel equipped to teach online safety to their students, according to research by CyberSafeIreland.

Children’s rights groups have marked the fifth anniversary of the passing of the children’s referendum by claiming there is still some distance to go before the rights enshrined in the Constitution are fully vindicated.

A new report has highlighted how children as young as seven are being increasingly targeted by predators online,writes Ciara Phelan.

LATEST: A private fostering service has said that it fully accepts the findings outlined in a new Hiqa monitoring inspection report.

Children are spending up to five hours a day online and engaging in dangerous activity such as sexting, with their parents unaware of the dangers.

Childline received more than 1,000 calls for help on Christmas Day, with some children citing domestic violence and alcohol abuse as problems in their home.

More than 1,000 children contacted Childline on Christmas Day.

Children as young as five are being allowed unlimited and unsupervised access to the internet, according to the ISPCC.

The ISPCC has today said that children who are currently homeless in Ireland are worse off than children who are homeless in the UK.

Childline received 1,176 calls from children who were scared, neglected, sad, or lonely on Christmas day last year.

Children’s rights campaigners have welcomed a move by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission to try to force a Government rethink on its attitude to compensating victims of child sex abuse.

Tánaiste and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald wants to see new legislation to protect children from online abuse in place by the end of the year.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has said a Law Reform Commission report on online abuse has highlighted potential gaps in the law.

The Child and Family Agency says it improved its services for young people last year “with limited resources” and despite having received 43,596 referrals.

Young people are to be consulted by a new task force on mental health issues.

Thousands of children are struggling to cope with mental health problems due to the failure to properly resource emergency and acute services.

Several agencies charged with representing vulnerable children and young adults in State care have demanded an independent inquiry into allegations that children were left in foster care settings despite allegations of sexual abuse.

Children's charity the ISPCC says it wants to find out if abuse is "systemic" in foster care in Ireland.

This letter is an urgent appeal from 14 organisations who work with children to call on An Taoiseach to show leadership on the issue of child homelessness.

No excuse for slapping a child will be accepted by the courts henceforth. The law has been changed to clarify a grey area that persisted for 155 years around physical punishment by parents and minders.

Groups providing family support, rape crisis, domestic violence, and marriage counselling services all face further funding cuts, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has warned.

A quarter of Irish teenagers have suffered online bullying, according to an international survey of young people.

A 24-hour social work service is to be rolled out across the country over the summer, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency has confirmed.

The Government has signalled it will act on many of the recommendations contained in a new report on the asylum seeker process, amid calls from support organisations to overhaul the system.

A new generation has spoken, said the yes side after a landslide victory and an historic weekend.

However one feels about it, children are at the heart of the debate on the upcoming referendum, writes ISPCC chief executive Grainia Long.