Simon Harris made the comment as police investigating the disappearance of Kyran Durnin began excavating a section of wasteland behind the boy's former family home in Dundalk, County Louth.

A digger was working on the land after the police search of the terraced house entered its second day.

Police opened a murder investigation last week after Kyran was reported missing along with his mother on 30 August.

He was also reported to have been seen two days before.

Kyran's mother has been located, but investigators say the boy's whereabouts remain unknown and he is now presumed dead.

Despite the reported sighting, officers believe he may have been murdered two years ago.

The property being searched is known to have been Kyran's family home for a number of years until May 2024, police have said.

However, the current tenants are not believed to be linked to the boy's disappearance.

The property was taken into possession of Irish police after they were granted an order by the district court.

Speaking in the Irish parliament today, Taoiseach Mr Harris said the "saddest and most painful thing" about the case is that nobody asked where he was for some two years.

He added: "I don't think there's a person on any side of this house, or a person in Ireland who isn't both utterly horrified and utterly heartbroken at what is emerging in relation to the case of young Kyran Durnin.

"It's nothing to do with political establishment or any sort of rhetoric like this. This is just to do with basic humanity."

Mr Harris continued: "I think any one of us thinking that that could happen to any child is deeply upsetting, and it is going to require, and maybe I should say this at the outset, it is absolutely going to require a structure to get to the exact bottom of this. Of that, there is no doubt.

"But right now, we have to be very conscious of the fact that the gardai are very actively investigating this. To say there's a live investigation under way would capture it."

The taoiseach urged anyone with information to contact police.

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On Tuesday, Tusla, Ireland's child and family agency, said it raised a "significant concern" around the missing child to police in August.

"We can confirm that whilst Kyran was not in the care of Tusla, our services had engaged with both he and his family," Tusla said.

"In August 2024, we alerted An Garda Siochana in relation to a significant concern about Kyran.

"Since August, we have continued to assist and work closely with the gardai, and in line with normal practice, all relevant information has been shared."

Peadar Toibin, an elected representative for the Aontu party, told the parliament that Kyran is "one of 227 children who have died in state care or known to state care just in the last 10 years".

He said that of those, 11 are known to have been murdered.