An inquest jury has recommended that the Department of Transport instruct all local authorities to introduce a mandatory 30km/h speed limit in all housing estates.
The jury at the Coroner's Court in Carlow had earlier heard evidence in the inquest into the death of six-year-old Jake Brennan.
Jake died after he was hit by a car close to his home at Lintown Grove in Kilkenny on 12 June 2014.
The jury also recommended that the department introduce appropriate street signage in all housing estates.
Emergency services described the layout out of the housing estate as a hindrance to fast reaction times.
A paramedic, who responded to the incident described the Lintown Hall estate, where Linton Grove is situated, as a "celtic tiger estate" where it is "nigh on impossible to find anywhere."
He described how the ambulance drove across town in four minutes and it took three minutes once they reached the estate to find the site of the collision.
A Garda, who also responded to the incident, told the coroner "it's a maze out there."
The depositions of a number of witnesses and Jake's parents were read out to the Coroner's Court.
Witnesses described how Jake was thrown into the air after he was struck by the car and said the car rolled over him before stopping.
Deputy State Pathologist Michael Curtis said the little boy’s death was caused by "crush injuries to the chest and abdomen" consistent with being "run over and dragged by the front body work of a vehicle."
Asked about the correlation between injuries and speed limits, Dr Curtis said there is no doubt that lower speed limits would reduce the number of fatalities.
A Garda Forensic Collision Investigator said, based on where Jake's mother Roseanne Brennan said the point of impact was, the car's speed at the time of the impact was determined as between 44-46 km/h.
The driver told gardaí she was travelling around 20-30 km/h.
Jake's parents are seeking a recommendation from the jury that a speed limits of 20 km/h be mandatory in housing estates.
There have been no convictions in connection with Jake's death.
The jury found that Jake's death was due to crush injuries to his chest and abdomen and dragging as a result of being struck by a car.
