The CARI Foundation (Children at Risk In Ireland) has criticised the Office of the DPP today for delays in the prosecution of child sexual abuse cases.
The charity's national director Ms Mary Flaherty said it was clear from cases dealt with by the organisation over the last year many children and their families had been adversely affected as a result of having to wait for the DPP's office to decide whether to proceed with a prosecution.
She added the effect of the delays were "compounded by the additional delay" from the time of the DPP Office's "eventual decision to the issuing of trial dates".
The Office of the DPP has declined to comment.
Ms Flaherty was speaking at the launch of CARI's annual conference - "Responding to Child Sexual Abuse: Systems and Attachments that Protect Children" - which was attended by over 100 teachers, social workers, therapists, psychologists and residential childcare workers.
American psychologist Prof Pamela Alexander told the conference a lack of resolution of trauma predominated among sexual abuse survivors and that "this can sometimes lead to intergenerational transmission of abuse".