Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

I thank Senators for tabling this motion and welcome the opportunity to discuss with them the issue of the 116000 hotline. I also acknowledge the keen interest and commitment of many Members of the House on this matter.

The issue of missing children is understandably an emotive one. I hope, in my contribution, to begin to unpick what is envisaged in the missing children hotline service, outline the services already in place and provide the House with an understanding of the extent to which missing children is an issue in Ireland.

I will address immediately the main objective of the motion before the House, namely, to seek a definitive plan for putting the 116000 missing children hotline into operation. I am pleased to accept the motion. My new Department has a large number of priorities, the first of which is to address the significant challenges facing the State's child protection and welfare services. My new Department has a large number of priorities at the moment, the first of which is to address the significant challenges facing our State's child protection and welfare services. Senators will be well aware of these challenges which we must address at a time of significant financial constraint. None the less, in the context of other challenges, the priority I have attached to the establishment of the 116000 hotline is only right.

The decision of the Taoiseach to establish for the first time a senior Ministry and full Department of Children and Youth Affairs was designed to bring added value to the Government's approach to children's issues. The fresh impetus brought by a new Department to take on the co-ordination of this development is resulting in long-awaited progress. Since its establishment in June my Department, in conjunction with the Department of Justice and Equality, has embarked on a preliminary scoping of the many issues involved in establishing this hotline. This week I brought a memo to Cabinet on the next steps to be taken in establishing the hotline. Today I can advise the House that a new project team is being established, with representation from both Departments and from the Garda Síochána and ComReg. This team will examine how best to set up the hotline in the context of the demand for the service, and by establishing the extent to which existing Government funded services, including the Garda and victim support services, can be mobilised to meet Ireland's commitments to the hotline. I share the concern of the House that this should happen as soon as possible and I therefore hope, subject to identifying the appropriate partnerships and funding, that both my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality can support the establishment of the 116000 hotline during 2012.

It is important to note that the incidence of children who go missing in Ireland is, fortunately, low and numbers have fallen significantly in recent years. Up-to-date statistics provided to me by An Garda Síochána indicate there are five open cases of children who went missing in Ireland in 2010. The reduction in the number of the children going missing is itself a tremendous achievement, and full credit and recognition should go to all who worked to effect such an impressive improvement in these figures. However, five children missing are still five too many. One child missing is one child too many. For a parent, the very idea of a child going missing is frightening. If the panic a parent feels when a young child is momentarily out of sight is magnified to that felt when a child is deemed officially lost, the situation is almost too terrifying to contemplate or understand.

In the first instance and ideally, every effort must be made to ensure a child does not go missing. The skills and mechanisms a child needs to stay safe are first taught in the home. Common simple messages abound and are reiterated to young children all the time: "Don't talk to strangers", "Stay there and don't move", and "Don't go where I can't see you".. We have all been through this. When children enter primary school, they encounter the Stay Safe programme which I have always supported, as have many Members of this House. This programme teaches children preventative measures, while preserving their sense of the world around them as a basically safe and secure place. This approach allows children to exercise control and be assertive and enables them to seek help for any problem they may encounter.

In spite of all this, unfortunately, children occasionally go missing, whether this happens through running away,economic migration, or abduction. This leads us to the need for clarity around definitions for children who are missing. It is common across EU member states to accept that a key factor in any definition relating to a missing person is that the person's whereabouts are unknown. There are many variations and additions on this theme but most definitions are focused on providing law enforcement with an effective threshold for intervention rather than being child centred, with a focus on the needs of the child. The two can go hand in hand. This issue of definition is one that requires more investigation in the Irish context as we, too, have tended to look at the establishment of the 116000 hotline in a way that is not necessarily child focused. It may be of assistance to the House to outline the categories of children who may come within the definition of missing children. It will help give a sense of which children we are talking about, and the extent to which the necessary services are already in place, to deal with the issues involved.

I shall go through the different groups of concern. One category of missing children are those who go missing from HSE care and I shall outline what happens in that situation. The HSE operates a joint missing in care protocol with An Garda Síochána which sets out an agreed procedure between the two agencies and clarifies the roles and requirements of both in regard to all children missing from their care placements, as set out in the Child Care Act 1991. Many of the cases that are reported refer to a child who is late going back to care, perhaps by some three or four hours. People have to make a sensible decision based on the previous history and circumstances around the child and consider at which point they should report to the Garda. Obviously, people err on the side of caution. A missing child from care is one whose whereabouts are unknown and the circumstances of whose disappearance are such that the Health Service Executive or its agents assess the absence as high risk. The agreed joint national protocol on children who go missing from care should improve interagency co-operation in regard to these vulnerable children.

A second category that has received much attention in this country is that of unaccompanied minors who go missing after they enter the State. It is important to state that this phenomenon is not unique to Ireland. The issue is a complex one and at times the treatment of this issue has been over-simplified. There have been positive developments in this area which highlight the positive outcomes of interagency co-operation. To tackle this serious problem, the HSE developed a strong working relationship with the Garda National Immigration Bureau in regard to missing children. As many Senators will know, the level of interagency co-operation between the HSE and the GNIB has been consistently high and was rightly intensified in the face of the increase in missing children that presented in late 2008 and early 2009.

Following a series of intensive meetings which took place last year between HSE management and the GNIB and local gardaí - to which I referred when responding in this House to the rapporteur's report - the joint national protocol on children who go missing from care agreed between the Garda and the HSE was adapted in terms of application to unaccompanied minors who go missing. A series of collaborative measures was put in place which built on previous developments and resulted in improved outcomes in 2009. There were several surveillance operations with the collaboration of HSE staff and many children who had been reported missing were successfully tracked. As a result, there has been a decline in the number of unaccompanied minors presenting and remaining missing. The figure for 2010 was 11, down from 27 in 2009 and from a high of 81 in 2001. This is the welcome result of intensive interagency efforts throughout that year. There has clearly been a change in the numbers coming into the country in general which will account in part for those figures. It should be noted that these children make up the bulk of the children who are classified as still missing and the majority of these were near the age of 18 when they were reported missing. Many were 17 years of age but this is still a cause of concern. One asks what has happened to these young people but there may be a range of explanations. The Garda and the HSE take every incident of missing children extremely seriously and are committed to ensuring that vulnerable children are not exploited or ill-treated. We know that internationally there are serious concerns about the exploitation of young people, whether they are aged 17 or 15. It is a serious issue.

Another area of concern in any discussion about missing children is that of child abduction related to family disputes, a third category of children who may be reported missing. The Central Authority for Child Abduction was established on foot of the Child Abduction and Enforcement of Custody Orders Act 1991. This Act gave the force of law in Ireland to the Hague and Luxembourg conventions on child abduction. The purpose of these conventions is to facilitate the return of children who have been taken from one contracting state to another against the wishes of a parent with custody rights. The Department of Justice and Equality currently acts as the central authority in Ireland on international child abduction. The Irish central authority processed a total of 233 cases in 2010 - a large number. Of these, 140 were new cases, four more than in 2009, while 93 were ongoing cases carried over from 2009. Of the 140 new cases involving 193 children, 64 concerned abductions into the State from other countries while 76 concerned abductions from the State to other countries.

Of the 93 cases still active from the previous year, 53 were incoming and 40 outgoing. During 2010, therefore, a total of 117 incoming cases and 116 outgoing cases were being processed by the Irish Central Authority for Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters in liaison with the other national central authorities involved. Senators will appreciate that there are many families and children involved and that a great deal of inter-country and inter-agency work is required in order to discover precisely what is happening in respect of such children. Major issues arise in the context of provididng support for the families and children involved.

I have no doubt that the availability of an EU-wide 116000 hotline, operational in Ireland, would be of assistance to those affected. When a child goes missing, support mechanisms are very important. The Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime was established in 2005. This is an independent body which operates under the aegis of the Department of Justice and Equality. In the past five years the commission has allocated €7.3 million in funding to over 50 non-governmental organisations, NGOs, which support the victims of crime. Superb work is being done by the organisations to which I refer. I examined the position on where this money is being allocated and I am aware that superb work is being done throughout the country by the organisations and NGOs which work with the victims of crime.

One of the agencies for which the commission has provided funding is Missing in Ireland Support Services Limited, a registered charity which provides emotional and other forms of practical support for the families and friends of those who have gone missing in or from Ireland. This is achieved through the provision of an existing national missing persons helpline, a website with profiles of the missing and a Facebook presence on the Internet. The existing helpline to which I refer co-operates with the Garda Síochána and community-based organisations and works to ensure there is a national, co-ordinated approach to the location of missing persons, to reduce the incidence and impact of missing persons and educate the broader community in respect of missing persons.

While support and services for the families of missing children are vital, the first action which should be taken when a child goes missing is to alert the local police. Obviously, in the case of a child who goes missing in Ireland, this is the Garda Síochána. The investigation of a child's disappearance is the responsibility of the Garda and its structures in this regard include not just local gardaí who will have primary responsibility for the investigation but also the Missing Persons Bureau. I am sure Senators will agree that it is of paramount importance that any arrangements which are put in place to establish the 116000 hotline in Ireland do not compromise the requirement that the first and most important contact to be made is to notify the Garda of the fact that a child is missing in order that an investigation can commence without delay.

The 116 numbers are freefone numbers to be used throughout Europe in situations of need or distress. If a person has a problem when travelling abroad in Europe, he or she need only remember one number instead of several. In February 2007 the European Commission adopted a decision requiring member states to reserve the 116000 number for missing children hotlines across the Union. The revision of the telecoms package adopted in November 2009 and, in particular, Article 27a which, I do not doubt, is what the relevant Senators were referring to when they tabled the motion, inserted a new requirement on member states to "make every effort to ensure that citizens have access to a service operating a hotline to report cases of missing children. The hotline shall be available on the number 116000". At this stage member states are expected to "make every effort" to act on it. However, in a communication last November, the Commission stated that "if no further progress is made within a reasonable timeframe, the Commission will consider presenting a legislative proposal". I hope that will not be necessary.

The allocation of specific numbers in the 116 number range in Ireland is managed by the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg. I will not trouble the House with the details, but Senators will be familiar with the 116 numbers that have already been allocated. In essence, the purpose of the 116000 phone number is to provide a contact number for families if children go missing. ComReg advertised the availability of and invited applications for the 116000 number in Ireland on four separate occasions during the past four years. It has advised that to date no organisation has applied for the missing children hotline number. It is clear that significant financial issues for the relevant organisations are involved.

The establishment of the hotline is a cross-sectoral issue which involves a number of Departments and agencies. My Department has had a number of preliminary meetings in recent months with representatives from the Departments of Health, Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and Justice and Equality, the HSE and ComReg. We have also been in contact with the Garda Síochána, representatives from which will also be involved in the discussions on this matter. In order to progress the matter, it will be necessary to co-ordinate the activities of these Departments and agencies to ensure the 116000 hotline is established in the most effective and efficient manner. Earlier this year I met representatives from some NGOs which are eager to assist in the establishment of the hotline. These organisations have already done some work on the process. Across Europe, NGOs have made a contribution to the running of the hotline and the project team being established will examine if NGOs in Ireland can add value to the scheme. While the introduction of a missing children's hotline involves, as stated, many Departments, I reiterate that the investigation of incidences of missing child is primarily a matter for the Garda. I have, therefore, been in contact with the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, in the context of discovering whether we can jointly achieve the establishment of this service.

We are all too well aware of the fact that we live in financially challenging times. Initial costings have been made, including by interested NGOs, for the provision of a hotline service. We want to take the most cost-effective approach to establishing the service. I am acutely aware than many Irish NGOs which run similar hotlines and telephone counselling services are struggling to meet the costs involved. The Commission noted in its communication of last November that the running and telecoms costs which could arise in setting up and servicing a 116 EU-wide hotline could act as a barrier to implementation. We must, therefore, give careful consideration to this matter.

We have carried out an initial scoping exercise of the issues involved and the project team which will include representatives from my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality, the Garda Síochána and ComReg is being established. We will examine how best to operationalise the hotline in the context of the demand for the service. I have outlined the figures involved for the latter and there is no doubt that some discussion is required in respect of them. It is fortunate that there has been a reduction in the figures in certain areas in recent years. We need to establish the extent to which services, including Garda and victim support services, which are already in existence and in receipt of Government funding can be mobilised to meet Ireland's commitment to the hotline.

As stated, it is my hope, subject to identifying the appropriate partnership and funding, that both my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality can support the establishment of the 116000 hotline during 2012. I thank Senator Cummins and his colleagues for tabling the motion and giving me the opportunity to outline the position on these important matters to the House. I thank Senators for their attention and look forward to their contributions.