Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he will urge Pope Francis for full disclosure on child abuse by Catholic priests.
Mr Varadkar said he will discuss the issue with the Pope during their brief meeting over the weekend.
Speaking on Thursday, he was asked to what extent leaders could put pressure on the Vatican to completely open up about child abuse.
Mr Varadkar said: "I think we can and I think we have to.
"Things are far from perfect in Ireland when it comes to issues around child protection, but we have made a lot of strides in the right direction in the last couple of years.
"We don't for example have any statutory limitations when it comes to prosecuting people who are perpetrators of child sex abuse, and we've brought in mandatory reporting over the last year and that's not the case in other countries."