Taoiseach Enda Kenny has called for a national discussion about pornography and the potentially corrupting effect it is having on young people.

At an event to launch a free helpline for the victims of crime this afternoon Mr Kenny spoke about various legislation that is coming through the Dail at the moment including laws to protect children online.

He said young people who were spending more time online were being subjected to an "avalanche" of material online, including pornography.

"What used to be termed the lads magazines have now grown to be replaced with pornography that is as ubiquitous as it is damaging," he said.

"Our young people growing up imagining that what they see on the screen might be normal sexual behaviour there has to be a discussion about this in terms of families and children and the kind of society that is evolving in the start of the second century since the Rising of 1916.

"There is clearly an issue there that needs to be addressed and very hard to address it given the range and the velocity of the avelanche of communications if all descriptions that are coming at young people now and that for older generations who just can't reach into the spheres where young minds are being, in some cases, corrupted and tainted, by an avalanche of this kind of material.

"If you like this matter is part of our agenda for a better and for a caring Ireland where you can be as comfortable as you can that your children are getting a chance to be able to deal with these this when they come across these things as inevitably they will," he added.

Mr Kenny stressed that it was important to educate children about privacy and boundaries.

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