Surge in online child sex abuse material

There has been an alarming rise in the volume of child sexual abuse content online, with reports of illegal material by members of the public at an all-time high.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has called on internet service providers to sign up to a Garda initiative to combat online child abuse after a report revealed a 148% jump in such cases.

Just one of the country’s 55 internet providers — UPC — has joined the scheme, which was launched last November.