North West MEP calls for campaign to promote missing children’s hotline

A Northwest MEP says we need to do more to make the 11 6000 hotline more widely known.
Jim Higgins has welcomed the new hotline which to ensures a rapid response during the crucial first hours after a child’s disappearance, helping parents and guardians access the support they need.
The MEP says however, that he is very concerned that very few people seem to be aware of the hotline or what it does.
The hotline provides advice and support, taking calls from the general public, the family of the missing child or the child themselves. The service also supports the Gardaí in their investigations.
MEP Higgins says people need to be encourage to use the service especially in the first hours after a disappearance.
He says we also need to dispel the myth that you must wait 24 hours before reporting someone missing to the Gardaí adding that If your child goes missing notify the Gardaí immediately.
The hotline is now operational 24/7 on a near EU wide basis with 23 hotlines in operation and a further three [Lithuania, Latvia and Sweden] to be launched shortly.
Jim Higgins is warned against complacency and wants the hotline featured in ads, on posters in schools, as well as on ambulances, Gardaí and fire vehicles.