Number of calls to emergency services halve in 7 years

Changes in the design of mobile phone handsets and a reduction in the number of faulty telephone lines have contributed to a significant decline in the number of 112 and 999 calls, according to the Department of Communications.

The number of calls to emergency services decreased by 13.5% in 2015, according to the annual review of the Emergency Call Answering Service.

Figures published by the Department of Communications show a total of 1,860,335 calls were recorded by the ECAS last year. It represents 289,110 fewer emergency calls than were made in 2014.