Nearly 18 months after the tragic death of a young woman and her two small children in Wexford, a local hospital where she had earlier sought help still does not have a list of emergency numbers for social services available, a coroner's inquest heard yesterday.
The family of 28-year-old Sharon Grace, who drowned along with her children Mikahla (4) and Abby (3) in April 2005, said it was "a scandal" that social services had not been available to help her because it was a weekend.
The foreman of the jury at Wexford Coroner's Court, Seán Meyler, said that in a country awash with money it was a disgrace that three lives could be lost as a result of lack of services.
Wexford South coroner Jimmy Murphy said it was incredible that nothing had changed at the hospital a year and six months after the death of Ms Grace and her children.
A receptionist at Ely Hospital, a hospital in Wexford, Marian Redmond, told the inquest that at about 7.30pm on Saturday, April 16th last year, a woman and two small children had approached the front desk and asked to speak to a social worker.
She said she had told the woman there was none available as they were on duty only from Monday to Friday.
Ms Redmond said the woman asked for an emergency number but she did not have one. She said she told the woman she could contact Wexford General Hospital, but the woman said this was not necessary.
Asked by the coroner as to whether a list of emergency numbers was now available at Ely Hospital, Ms Redmond said this was not the case. The coroner replied: "So nothing has been learned."
An angler, Toddy Roche, who was fishing with a number of friends at Kaats Strand, Wexford gave evidence of discovering the bodies of Ms Grace and her two children in shallow water.
He said he saw a hand sticking from the water and then saw a woman's body floating face up. He then saw the body of a child also floating face up and the body of a baby facing down in the water near the shore.
The State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, said the findings of the postmortem on Ms Grace had been consistent with death by drowning. She said Ms Grace had not taken alcohol or drugs prior to her death and there was no evidence of third-party injury.
Dr Cassidy said the postmortem findings in relation to Mikahla had also been consistent with drowning. The girl had bruising above her right ear, but there was no evidence that she had been restrained or suffocated. Dr Cassidy said the bruises on the scalp could have occurred as a result of buffeting in the water. However, she could not exclude that it had occurred prior to her going into the water. Dr Cassidy concluded that death had been caused by drowning, with the minor head injury as a possible contributory cause.
Dr Cassidy said Abby had a bruise to her forehead which could have been caused by her striking stones on the seabed.
She did not exclude this occurring before she went into the water.
Dr Cassidy concluded that death had been as a result of drowning, with the minor head injury as a possible contributory cause.
The jury agreed with the evidence of the State Pathologist that the deaths had resulted from drowning.
Mr Meyler said the fact that there had been no change in procedures at the hospital in relation to emergency numbers was the greatest insult to the memory of a young woman and two innocent children. "Surely something must be done. It may be simplistic to say but, in a country awash with money, that three lives were lost due to a lack of services is a disgrace."
The father of Sharon Grace, Eddie Reddy, said it was a "scandal". Social services should be ashamed of themselves 10 times over.
"In this day and age, when suicide is worse than road deaths, nothing was done. They should be ashamed of themselves."
Speaking after the inquest, Mr Reddy said he was absolutely sickened by social services.
"A young girl goes for help and is told to come back on Monday. The country is awash with money, but for the ordinary Joe Soap there is nothing."