Four out of five calls made to Childline go unanswered due to a lack of resources, according to a review of the service published today.
Childline, set up in 1988 by the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC), also saw a 72 per cent increase in the number of calls made to the service over the last year.
Childline reported that out of 786,277 calls to the service last year only 158,503 were answered.
However, nearly 100,000 of those calls involved two-way interaction. The review found 49 per cent of the calls answered concerned young people discussing specific problems as opposed to just chat calls or people getting to know the service.
According to the ISPCC the increase in the number of calls answered is "heartening" however the overall rise in the number of calls made to the service is "alarming and distressing".
The review also revealed that calls concerning sexuality and sexual issues were significantly higher during 2003.
Childline blames the increase on "the lack of information and support available to young people as well as the premature early sexualisation of young people".
The number of calls made from mobile phones has also risen substantially according to the review.
