A book has been banned in Ireland on the grounds of obscenity for the first time in 18 years because of the nature of its content.

The Censorship of Publications Board put a prohibition order on all editions of 'The Raped Little Runaway', written by Jean Martin.

The order applies to to all editions of the book by any publisher.

The book was brought to the attention of the board who banned it because it contains numerous explicit descriptions of the rape of a child.

Board chairman Shane McCarthy said the decision was unanimous among the five board members.

"It was the only resort," said Mr McCarthy.

"We either ban it or allow it. It isn't like a film where you can put in an age restriction. It is black or white."

He said there were only a small number of books that were banned in Ireland and said that prohibitions were an extreme and rare occurance.

"The collective view of the board was that it was a vile publication as it contained graphic descriptions of the rape of a minor. It was not singular.

"This is the first book that has been banned since 1998.

"The minutes of the board meeting for March 1, 2016, record that the novel 'The Raped Little Runaway' was prohibited as it contained graphic descriptions of the rape of a minor."

The last book to be banned by the board was the 'Base Guide to London' because it advertised the locations of "places of ill-repute" in the English capital.

No books have been banned on the grounds of obscenity recently but there have been books banned on the grounds of advocating abortion or miscarriage.

Irish Independent