CALL FOR 24HR CHILDLINE CARE.

Byline: By ED CARTY

ONE of the country's leading child protection groups yesterday called for a 24-hour social work service - after it emerged one in three cries for help go unanswered.

The Irish Society For Prevention Of Cruelty To Children said there is a glaring gap in welfare and supports putting the vulnerable at increased risk.

More than three quarters of the 650,000 calls handled by the ISPCC's Childline last year were made out-of-hours. Mary Nicholson of the charity said with a never - increasing number of youths seeking help, 240,500 calls went unanswered.

She added: "While gardai have the power to intervene, a Garda station is no place for a vulnerable child at risk.

"If we have 24- hour services, children and families can be supported and abuse which escalates to high threshold levels can be reduced." ISPCC chief Ashley Balbirnie said: "A child is a child 24 hours a day. Support should be available to them 24 hours a day".