Plan for emergency social workers

Plans are being put in place for the first nationwide out-of-hours social work service —10 years after the outcry sparked by the deaths of Sharon Grace and her young daughters.

The service will be co- ordinated through a national night-time and weekend call centre which will link gardaí and hospital staff to on-call social workers in every county.

Gardaí, hospital staff, and GPs will also have access to a Child Protection Notification System holding the names of children who are already the subject of Child Protection Plans.