Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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556. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs , further to Parliamentary Question No. 697 of 13 May 2014, other than social media to advertise the 116000 hotline, if there are posters on display in all Garda Síochána stations, public libraries and schools; and if it states on the posters that members of the public may call the hotline if they see a missing child or if they have any information to pass on regarding a missing child. [18154/16]

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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557. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of calls received by the 116000 hotline in each of the years 2013 to 2015. [18155/16]

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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558. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if the 116000 helpline is handed out to print media or Aertel each time a child goes missing; and where exactly on the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children's web page, missing children's hotline, does it state that members of the public can call the 116000 helpline if they see a missing child or have any information to pass on regarding a missing child. [18156/16]

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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559. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the location on the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children website it states that members of the public can call the 116000 helpline if they have a concern for a child's welfare; and if the 116000 helpline can be used to report issues other than a missing child. [18157/16]

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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560. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the amount of European Union and State funding the 116000 helpline has received in each of the years 2013 to 2015; the number of full-time staff who are employed by the 116000 hotline and if there has been any cut back to staff recently. [18158/16]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 556 to 560, inclusive, together.

The 116 000 Missing Children Hotline number is operated by the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) and is financially supported by my Department. The Hotline is not an emergency number and, in such instances, the first point of contact is An Garda Síochána at 112/999.

My Department has been informed by the ISPCC that posters and business cards were delivered to the Missing Persons Bureau in An Garda Síochána Headquarters for distribution to all Garda stations nationwide. The posters were utilised to advertise and promote the service. The posters named the service, highlighted the contact number and noted the support of my Department. In 2014, ISPCC personnel spent almost 460 hours on the distribution of posters in community venues around Ireland. In addition, in any ISPCC outreach that took place in a school or community venue, the ISPCC staff member/volunteer also spoke about the Hotline service. The ISPCC continues to raise awareness of the Missing Children Hotline in ongoing media work; e.g. press release and social media use to mark International Missing Children’s Day on 25^thMay 2016.

In respect of the numbers of calls received by the Hotline in each of the years 2013 to 2015, the ISPCC have provided the following information:

- 523 calls in 2013 (this includes a high number of test calls made to check initial functionality)

- 218 calls in 2014 and

- 217 calls in 2015.

There was a total of 51 calls in the 1^stQuarter of 2016.

The ISPCC has advised that it regularly keeps the media informed of the number of the Hotline and its purpose. While the 116000 number is not provided to print media each time a child goes missing, information provided to the ISPCC by An Garda Síochána is distributed appropriately within the ISPCC to relevant personnel, so that local support needs can be identified and provided where appropriate.Information is also posted to the Missing Children Hotline website – www.missingchildrenshotline.ie - where appropriate and subsequently to the Facebook and Twitter pages. Where the case is concluded, the post is removed from the site to protect the identity of the child.

Information on the Hotline is located on the ISPCC website at www.ispcc.ie/missingchildren. This page clearly states that members of the public can call the 116000 helpline if they have a concern in respect of a missing child or information in respect of a missing child. It clearly states that in an emergency situation, a report should be made to An Garda Síochána.

The Hotline takes calls from the general public and if necessary, will redirect them to the relevant authorities. In addition to the Missing Children Hotline, the ISPCC has a separate Support Line available to members of the public if they have any concerns about a child’s welfare. It can be contacted by phoning 01 6767960.

The ISPCC has advised that the amount of European Union and State funding the 116000 helpline received from 2013 is as follows:

*No funding was available for Hotlines in 2015 from the European Daphne Programme, so the ISPCC did not apply for that year. The ISPCC has advised that it made a successful application to the Programme for 2016.

With regard to staffing, the ISPCC employs staff to run the various helplines including the Hotline, Childline and the European Helpline as well as staff to answer calls and provide administrative support.

The number of staff employed, as set out below, includes all staff involved in the provision of the various phone helpline services provided by the ISPCC. All helpline staff are trained to take calls from each helpline number and therefore all staff employed in the helpline services are available to take calls from the Hotline. These staff are supported by trained volunteers of whom there was a total of 507 at the end of May 2016.

It should be noted that the Hotline has the following purposes:

- Informs all callers to the Hotline that An Garda Síochána is the Agency responsible for investigating missing children and as such, should be the first port of call in respect of a missing child.

- Provides emotional support to children who are missing, their family and others responsible for the missing child.

- Offers guidance and advice to the callers regarding a missing child.

- Reports cases where a child is at immediate risk as per Children First.

- Re-directs calls outside the scope of the Hotline.

- Provides a confidential text support via sending an automated generic SMS to the missing child when parental consent is received.