The Childline phone service operated by the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was extended to 24 hours a day from yesterday.
The Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, marked the extension from 12 hours on week days and four hours a day at weekends to a 365-day-a-year service.
The support of Eircell mobile phone company, which has committed itself to raising £100,000 towards the service, would make a continuous service fundable and sustainable, said the ISPCC chief executive, Mr Cian O Tighearnaigh. The move was a response to demand from child callers, he said.
The service was extended to 24 hours a day for a week without prior notification earlier this year and showed a 22 per cent increase in calls over the average week. The service has handled 300,000 calls over the 10 years of its operation, Mr O Tighearnaigh added.
He said it was notable that a lot of first-time calls came in, while calls were generally more serious; notably, there was a doubling of calls about alleged physical abuse.
This was worrying. The Government and voluntary agencies needed to address the "total lack in Ireland of child accessible counselling or helping services for children support services". "If the experience of Childline has taught us anything, it is that children will use and seek help from services that are directly accessible and child-friendly," he said.
Ms O'Rourke said she regarded the service provided by professional staff and trained volunteers as a "huge advance", and so appropriate in providing what was needed for children. She was reassured by the ISPCC's involvement in the provision of parenting skills. Just because a person was a parent, it did not necessarily mean he or she was equipped to rear children, she said.
Childline is at 1-800-666-666.
