Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 93: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will establish the EU wide 116000 telephone hotline for missing children; his views on amalgamating the response to calls to the number with an existing service; if he has discussed this with his UK counterpart; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8499/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I am informed that the telephone number to which the Deputy refers has been reserved by the European Commission as a common missing children telephone hotline for the entire EU. It is made available by national telecoms regulators to organisations capable of providing such a service. This is therefore a matter primarily for the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg).

The Deputy may wish to note that following my request to the Garda Síochána Inspectorate to assess the need to establish a dedicated Missing Persons Unit within An Garda Síochána, including a response similar to Amber Alert, and to report their findings to me, the Inspectorate published its report earlier last year. One of its main recommendations was that an emergency alert system for missing children, similar to the Amber Alert system in place in other countries, should be established.

I gave the go ahead for the implementation of this recommendation. An Garda Síochána is committed to its implementation, and they are currently exploring options to achieve the most appropriate structure to give effect to the recommendation, taking account of progress at international level in the development of alert systems for missing children.