Senior figures in the law, education, business and the public service are among almost 100 men who may face charges of possessing and distributing paedophile pornography as a result of Monday morning's nationwide Garda raids.
Computer equipment was seized at homes in mainly well-to-do suburbs around the State.
Some equipment was also seized in legal and business offices.
There were almost no raids in working-class areas, and none of the suspects, so far, is known to have any criminal record.
Gardaí involved in the operation describe it as in terms of the social profile of the suspects.
Some are well-known figures who hold very senior positions. Many are married with families.
All the suspects are believed to have used credit cards to buy pornographic images - some depicting children being raped - from a site which was being monitored by the FBI over the past two years.
According to Garda sources, Monday morning's raids resulted in great distress for some of the families of suspects.
The wife of one well-known suspect is said to have become hysterical.
In a number of cases, particularly in one instance where a suspect holds a position of responsibility in a large primary school, the Garda investigations are likely to be extended to discover if there has been any actual abuse of children.
The hundreds of items of computer hardware, mainly PC hard drives, are being taken to the computer forensic investigation unit in the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation.
The bureau has the necessary software to download images from computer hard drives to be presented in court as evidence.
The law providing for the prosecution of persons possessing or distributing computer images of paedophile pornography was passed only four years ago and has only been used in 20 or so cases so far.
The Child Trafficking and Pornography Act was initially introduced by the last Minister for Justice, Mrs Nora Owen.
Monday's raids were the result of almost a year's work carried out by the Garda Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Unit.
The raids were carried out by about 500 gardaí and detectives based in all but two Garda divisions in the State.
The operation was under the direction of Assistant Commissioner Joe Egan, who is the Garda's director of National Support Services, and Chief Supt Sean Camon, head of the National Bureau of Crime Investigation (NBCI).
The gardaí were acting on information supplied by the FBI through Interpol. The raids in this State are part of an international campaign against paedophile pornography users which began in 1998 in the United States.
The initial impetus for the worldwide investigations began when the United States Post Service, which is responsible for monitoring electronic and paper communications, discovered that a couple in the southern states of the US had set up a company selling paedophile pornography on the Internet.
The couple were eventually arrested and given very heavy jail sentences.
It was estimated that in one year they had made $1.3 million.
The US Mail passed on their information to the FBI, which took control of monitoring the site, allowing men to continue using credit card transactions to buy the pornography over the Internet.
The exact number of men detected using the site is not known publicly, but FBI sources have indicated that tens of thousands of transactions were observed.
In all the cases where Irish suspects' equipment was taken by the Garda, it is understood that credit card transactions had taken place. Financial records will play a part in any prosecutions.
However, sources close to the investigation yesterday said that in many instances suspects almost immediately admitted guilt and indicated they would not seek to contest charges.