The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children has asked for the immediate establishment of a nationwide 24-hour child protection service.
The society made the call following the outcome of the coroner's inquest into the deaths last year of Sharon Grace and her two young children.
Hours before drowning herself and her children, she had unsuccessfully sought a social worker.
The bodies of Sharon Grace and her two young daughters were found close to shore in Co Wexford last April. Yesterday, an inquest into their deaths returned a verdict of drowning.
However, it emerged during the inquest that the 28-year-old Wexford mother had sought a social worker just hours before drowning herself and her two children and was told none was available.
After the inquest, her father said it was an absolute scandal and that social services should be ashamed of themselves.
The ISPCC said it shared the concerns of Sharon Grace's family, and called for the immediate establishment of a nationwide 24-hour child protection service.
The society said the case was a clear example of the State's continuous failure to provide adequate child protection and welfare services. It said it was unacceptable that the lead statutory agency responsible remained a 9 to 5, Monday to Friday operation.
The ISPCC has now re-launched a campaign asking the public to sign a petition to press the Government to introduce priority areas to protect children.
