A deafening silence: Childline’s night service faces axe despite Taoiseach’s vow to safeguard children

Despite Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s pledge to safeguard children as a "national priority", the only 24-hour helpline for children in crisis faces closure in January due to a lack of funding.

The plug will be pulled on Childline, the Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) helpline night service, which has received almost 40,000 calls so far this year, unless €1.2m can be raised to plug a funding deficit.

After hearing that an extra €2m in funding will be made available by the Government to prevent the closure of some of the country’s best-known museums, Childline volunteer and fundraiser Monica Rowe said she decided to write to Mr Kenny this week to express her anger.