James Varian (32) was found to have 7,781 child sex abuse images on his mobile phone

The man had also been due to stand trial on a charge of possessing child sexual abuse material, known in law as child pornography.

The accused was aged between 14 and 17 at the time of the offending, while his victims were aged between nine and 13 years old.

The incident happened while Coward, who was on bail at the time, was leaving a hearing at the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ).

The Galway native also pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, relating to two videos of graphic content.

Shane Corrigan (53) pleaded guilty to using information technology to facilitate the sexual exploitation of a child

Matthew Coward (32) pleaded guilty to three counts of the sexual exploitation and three counts of production of child pornography

Matthew Coward (32) pleaded guilty to three counts of the sexual exploitation of three girls and a number of counts of production of child pornography

This follows Prime Time's investigation which was shown on RTÉ last night, which revealed landlords were seeking sex in exchange for reduced rent or free accommodation. 

Specialised training for care workers and gardaí is needed to deal with gangs of men who are grooming teenage girls in State care for sexual exploitation, according to the co-author of a report on the subject

A separate charge of attempting to intentionally meet with a child for the purpose of sexual exploitation on May 6th 2019, at St Stephen's Green, Dublin, was taken into consideration by the court.

Mehmet Umit Pala was first brought before Cork District Court earlier this year in connection with child sexual abuse imagery offences.

A number of premises were inspected as part of a multi-agency approach in Monaghan, Louth and Dublin

John Murphy, a married father of one from Ferncourt Crescent, Ballycullen, Co Dublin, pleaded guilty to a charge of the sexual exploitation of a child between June 2017 and June 2018.

The court heard neither the children's mother (40) nor her partner (52) accept the jury's verdict

Matthew Coward faces three counts of sexual exploitation of three girls and seven charges for the production of child sex abuse material

The man was extradited back to Ireland from the UK after he was imprisoned for a driving offence

The man signed guilty pleas to two charges relating to incidents which occurred in July 2019