There are calls for changes to protect children from newly-released sex offenders.

There are currently 94 sex offenders across the country who are being monitored under the conditions of a supervision order after being released form prison.

These are people who, at the time of their conviction, specific conditions were attached to their release.

However there are around 1,000 sex offenders on a so-called sex offenders register - although no such central register currently exists.

Instead, they register at a local garda station.

Independent Roscommon-South Leirtim TD Denis Naughten is calling for amendments to the Sex Offenders Act to monitor them.

"The difficulty at the moment is the sex offenders register is so loose, so broad it's impossible for the gardaí to actually effectively monitor sex offenders unless they fall under this category of the 94 that have specific conditions placed on them", he told the Pat Kenny Show.

New legislation hopes to close off loopholes in relation to monitoring sex offenders, as well as to introduce a 'Sarah's Law' system in Ireland.

This would allow parents to be given information regarding high-risk sex offenders that are in their community that may pose a risk to their children.

"It allows people to go and express concerns to the gardaí - we don't have a culture of that in this country where 'there's something just not right' and we don't bother the gardaí about it", Mr Naughten said.

"(It will) hopefully protect children before they become another statistic."

Mr Naughten told the Pat Kenny Show here on Newstalk the current system is not suitable.