John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

I assure the Deputy the security of the caller is absolutely paramount and that is why the system is organised so that a call from a member of the public goes directly to an independent call centre and not the Garda Síochána. Callers do not have to furnish their names or addresses nor do they have to disclose their identity. Reports will be drawn up by the call centre and they will be passed on to the Garda national drugs unit, which will deal with them centrally or through local drugs units. However, it is critically important that members of the public have confidence that their identity will not be revealed. Prior to launching the campaign, a pilot project was undertaken two years ago in Blanchardstown. Significant violence, intimidation and fear are associated with drugs and drug dealing and quite often people in the community have information and know what is happening but do not feel comfortable and safe about reporting it.

I take the Deputy's point about family protection and so on. However, I have one clear, simple message. If a person is living in a community and has information about drug dealing, which he or she feels may be useful to the Garda, we guarantee them their identity will remain anonymous. In its own right, it may not be enough but it may assist the Garda, which obtains information from a variety of sources. I appeal to people to use the telephone number and to deal with the Garda. The Deputy is correct that the key factor in ensuring the campaign is a success will be that individual callers are absolutely assured of anonymity.

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