The latest volume of cases from the Child Law Project documents the arrest of a man who offered to sexually abuse his daughter online for another man to watch.

The man did not realise the person he was conversing with in a chat room was an undercover policeman in another jurisdiction, who immediately contacted the gardai and the man was arrested.

The application for an order to take his daughter into care has been protracted and a specialist assessment of the child has been ordered before a final ruling is made.

The Child Law Project says children who are at risk are having to wait months to have their cases dealt with by the courts.

It found that the Health Service Executive (HSE) and Child and Family agency (Tusla) are facing significant delays in applying for care orders for vulnerable children.

The report details 24 cases, including seven that include sex abuse allegations, that went through District Courts around the country.

In one rural town, an application for an interim care order was listed for hearing on 20 separate days, spread over six months.

Director of the Child Law Project, Carol Coulter, says child sex abuse cases face delays because there are no specialist units in some parts of the country.