Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour)
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47. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will detail the way the new 116000 missing children's helpline will be advertised and promoted so that its presence will be widely known amongst children and their parents. [32351/13]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The 116000 Missing Children Hotline is operated by the ISPCC in liaison with a cross-sectoral Project Team, chaired by the DCYA.

The ISPCC has been successful in securing EU Daphne funding to support the establishment of the line. Funding has also been allocated to the hotline by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in 2013 (and previously in 2012). The funding received includes the establishment costs and the national promotion of the Hotline service.

A key component of the service is a successful awareness programme. It is vital that those who could benefit from the service know that it exists and that users are aware of the scope of the service. During the initial set up phase of the service, the ISPCC focused on community based promotion of the service. This included presentations to local community groups. Posters, flyers and business cards have been distributed to all Garda stations from Garda headquarters, and promotional material has been distributed to a variety of community based projects in various locations throughout the country. Further, the ISPCC has made extensive use of social media such as facebook and twitter to advertise this service on an ongoing basis. The official launch of the service 5 June, 2013 also provided the opportunity to further promote the scope of the service. In addition, the 116000 Missing Children Hotline website (www.missingchildrenhotline.ie) was launched on 5 June 2013, the day of the official launch of the service.

The ISPCC will now escalate the promotion of this service, which will include promotion in schools. The Project Team will be kept informed on an on-going basis of the ISPCC's plans and activities related to awareness raising.