Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 380: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if his attention has been drawn to the fact that as of 1 January 2010 the 116000 number reserved by the EU for an EU wide missing children hotline service has been assigned to service providers in 12 countries and is functioning in 11; if he is concerned that Ireland is not amongst these and if he will take the immediate steps necessary including making the necessary funding available to enable the 116000 hotline to be up and running in Ireland on an island wide basis. [21808/10]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 381: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the steps required to give effect to the new Article 27a on 116 numbers in Directive 2002/22/EC which requires member states to make every effort to ensure that citizens have access to a service operating a hotline to report cases of missing children and when he intends to stop delaying and deliver on this. [21811/10]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 380 and 381 together.

The European Commission published a Commission Decision dated the 15th February 2007 entitled "Reserving the national numbering range beginning with "116" for harmonised numbers for harmonised services of social value". Directive 2009/136/EC which amends Directive 2002/22/EC deals with the promotion of specific numbers in the "116" range and the encouragement of services for which such numbers are reserved. The allocation of specific numbers in the 116 number range in Ireland is managed by the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), which published (July 2007) and advertised (November 2007) the existence of the number range and invited suitable applicants to apply for the setting up of services.

I am advised by ComReg that Childline commenced a service using the telephone number 116111 in April 2009 and that the number 116123 has been allocated to the Samaritans. It is open to other organisations to apply to ComReg for the allocation of additional numbers from this numbering range. I am informed by ComReg that no organisation has yet applied for the missing children hotline number 116000. More generally, I would expect that cases of missing children would be reported to the Garda Síochána in the normal way.