News
116000 - Hotline for Missing Children
2nd February 2012
A European Commission (EC) Decision of 15th February 2007 requires Member States to reserve the 6-digit number range, within national telephone numbering plans, of the format 116XXX for the provision of Harmonised Services of Social Value in Europe. The concept of “same number – same service” envisages a specific socially important service accessible through the same 116 number, regardless of which Member State the caller is in.
On Tuesday 31 January, The number 116000 was assigned to the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (‘the ISPCC’) for the purpose of providing a Hotline for Missing Children in accordance with the requirements of the EC Decision.
The ISPCC proposes to bring the service into operation in September 2012. A project team set up by the Minister for Children, Frances Fitzgerald, will now liaise with the ISPCC to ensure that the service is established within the agreed timelines. The Minister has previously committed to bringing 116000 in to service in 2012. ComReg is participating in the project team.
More information on the status of all 116 services is available at www.comreg.ie/116 and Department of Children and Youth Affairs
