Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 124: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the number of calls made to the dial to stop drug dealing call centre with specific reference to Athlone; the number of these calls that were of some use to Athlone gardaí; the number of calls that were very useful to Athlone gardaí; the number of subsequent arrests and charges; his views on whether this scheme is a success worth investing in; if the scheme will be extended beyond the Autumn 2009 deadline; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26987/09]

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, the Dial to Stop Drug Dealing Campaign was launched on September 30th of last year. To date, almost 4,000 calls have been made to the phone line, and over 1,000 information reports have been made to the Gardaí as a result. The Gardaí have confirmed that there have been 9 reports received to date in relation to Westmeath and 7 of these calls relate to Athlone. All of those reports contained sufficient information to launch a preliminary investigation, and all of those investigations are ongoing.

The Deputy should note that calls are spread right across the country including areas that have not directly run a campaign. This highlights the fact that the confidential number used in the campaign is open to all to use regardless of the area one comes from. It should also be noted that from the outset the Dial-to-Stop Drug Dealing Campaign was to run over a discrete period of time. This was based on the findings from the initial pilot project in Blanchardstown in Dublin which found that the vast majority of calls were received early in the campaign following its launch.