Hotline campaigner slams minister

A
SOUTHSIDER who has tirelessly campaigned for the establishment of a hotline for
missing children has described the latest move to progress the issue as

“another stalling tactic

?.

Last
week Minister Frances Fitzgerald, who is also a Dublin Mid West TD, announced
that she was committed to establishing a missing children’s hotline number and
said she would set up a project group to ensure it is established.

Speaking
in the Seanad last Wednesday (October 12), Minister Fitzgerald said she hoped
the hotline would be fully operational some time next year.

“A new
project team is being established with representation from both departments
[Health and Communications] and from the Garda Síochána and ComReg,

? she said.

However,
Tom Brown, from Dundrum, who has dedicated his life to campaigning for a
hotline since his sister Ellen Cross vanished without trace in January 2000,
isn’t convinced it will be set up any time soon.

“I was
there listening to the debate and I was hopeful but I’m really very
disappointed,

? he told Southside People.

“I was
expecting far better than that. It’s unbelievable that this is taking so long,
with so many children going missing in Ireland every year.

“What
was given was just a commitment to set up a group to look into it. There’s
still no guarantee that the actual hotline will be implemented by 2012.

?

Mr Brown
has vowed to continue campaigning for the hotline, which Ireland is committed
to establishing under EU rules that date back to 2007.

He
pointed out that all member states are required to make the 116000 number
available for child hotlines across the EU. Telecoms rules introduced in November
2009 obliged these countries to make every effort to ensure that the hotline
was activated before May 25 this year.

“I
certainly won’t be giving up the fight based on what the minister said,

? Mr
Brown added.

“All that commitment does is takes the pressure off the Government
to set up the hotline. It’s just stalling the issue again. I’ll be doing my
best to keep the pressure on but I’m very disappointed.

?

Senator
Aideen Hayden (Lab) said it was a

“national disgrace

? that Ireland had still
failed to set up the hotline.

“It is
important for us to acknowledge that in not actioning this missing child
helpline number, we have failed not only our own people but in our obligations
to others as well,

? she said.

Senator
Hayden pointed out that 440 of those 513 children who disappeared from the care
of the State between 2000 and 2010 have never been found.

She said
she welcomed the minister’s commitment but was concerned about

“the caveats
that surround it

?.

“She
intends to establish a new project team but I would like a definite commitment
on when this will be done.

?

The
senator further noted that the hotline number is to be set up

“subject to
identifying the appropriate partnerships and funding

?.

The
Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) cautiously
welcomed the minister’s announcement but said the hotline needed to be
established as soon as possible.

Mary
Nicholson, Advocacy Manager at the ISPCC, said the children’s charity would be
the ideal organisation to run the hotline.

“The
ISPCC believes that this hotline needs to be established as soon as possible,
notwithstanding the current national financial situation,

? she said.

“The
ISPCC is recognised as a leader in the provision of phone listening services
worldwide with over 22 years’ experience providing listening services to
children via our Childline service and as such is best placed to run the
hotline.

?

Minister
Fitzgerald said there would be no delay in establishing the project group to
establish the hotline.

“I
expect that we will have a meeting of the group in the next couple of weeks,

?
she said.

“Therefore, there has been no delay in setting it up.

?

However,
she said she needed to ascertain the level of use of the hotline in other EU
countries and to find out whether the Government could continue to fund the
hotline once it had established it.

“I was
asked what was meant by

‘sustainable funding’, which applies to everything set
up in this day and age,

? she said.

“What I
mean by it is an appreciation of what the costs will be in the longer term. We
want to ensure that if we start something, we will be able to continue.

“I
cannot give a figure to the House for the cost involved because the funding
estimates vary widely and I want to ascertain first the projected level of
usage.

?