David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 85: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, further to Parliamentary Question No. 78 of 29 April 2009, the effectiveness of the Dial to Stop Drug Dealing campaign, particularly in County Cork; if phase two and phase three have been completed; if he plans to run anything similar in the Cork region in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41669/09]

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, I launched the Dial to Stop Drug Dealing initiative in September 2008 and the campaigns have been rolled out very successfully in three phases through 15 of the Local and Regional Drugs Task Forces. The campaigns ran from October 2008 to July 2009 and Cork City LDTF and the Southern RDTF both launched their campaigns on 23rd March 2008 under the second phase.

All three phases of the campaigns have been completed and, to date, nearly 5,500 calls have been made to the confidential number. 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. The Gardaí have confirmed that there have been 138 reports received to date in relation to Co. Cork. The campaign was originally due to cease operation in September of this year, but due to the positive outcomes being achieved, I decided to continue it with further funding from my Department.