Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. I also welcome the Bill and it provides for a sensible change. From my contact with people working in the area of social work, I know there is a clear advantage from is proposed in the Bill. It will provide more certainty for a child and he or she will be more likely to know what is happening. The idea of an eight-day period seems to be more of a stopgap and it could potentially be unsettling for the children involved. A practice had grown up whereby the extension was made for a period of 28 days and the President of the District Court rightly directed that correct procedures would be followed and that unless the necessary consent had been provided the court could not make an order for an extension of an interim care order in excess of eight days. It seems that what is proposed in the Bill is straightforward and sensible. It will assist the good administration of cases and it is in everybody interests that matters would be seen to happen in a consistent and coherent fashion.

I take this opportunity to express a concern, which everybody shares, about the extent of challenges facing us as a society in regard to child protection. I read of startling figures in the Roscommon Herald in recent days and if that is true for Roscommon it is true for other areas. The HSE in Roscommon alone dealt with 754 reports concerning welfare, physical abuse, sexual abuse and neglect of children in 2010. It is interesting that the percentage of welfare reports that related to children was 67% in Roscommon, which is higher than the national average of 56%. While these may seem to be simply figures underlining them is a very distressing reality.

I take this opportunity to ask the Minister about the EU hotline for missing children.

I discussed the EU hotline with Senator van Turnhout yesterday. Significant progress has been made since December 2012. The hotline will allow the reporting of missing juveniles to relevant authorities, accept tips about missing children and their location, and provide emotional support to parents. It is available in 20 EU countries. The hotline is not yet available to the extent hoped for. It is currently available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. every day, but it is hoped to have it available on a 24-hour basis from March 2013.

Can I ask the Minister about progress in that regard? Having debated this issue with her and with others in this House, I know she shares the concerns expressed. I also pay tribute to people outside the Oireachtas who have informed us on this issue from time to time. I take this opportunity to ask the Minister about this. It is crucial that everything necessary be done to ensure the safety and welfare of children and that support needs to be on a constant basis, and more than 18 hours a day. It needs to be clearly visible to people that the hotline is there and fully operational.