Minister Ahern Launches Hotline.ie Annual Report 2009

The Minister for Justice & Law Reform, Mr Dermot Ahern T.D. today launched the 2009 Annual Report of the Irish Internet Hotline which revealed that fewer users were encountering content illegal under Irish law.

But he again urged the public to be vigilant when on the internet and immediately report child pornography or other illicit content to the confidential hotline.

Speaking at the launch, the Minister said: "There has been a decline in users coming across illegal content judging by an analysis of the figures. This decline would suggest that the public simply do not encounter illegal content with the same frequency as in previous years. Similar conclusions have been reported by other hotlines.

"This is welcome news but we have to do everything within our powers to crackdown on child abuse images on the internet. International co-operation and police work has led to success in countering child abuse images on the Internet and bringing those who post and access such sites to justice."

The Minister said that the Hotline report outlined a case of child pornography being hosted in the Republic of Ireland. "Within five hours of the complaint being investigated by the Gardai and Hotline.ie, the content was removed. This underlines yet again the vital role the Internet users play." 

30 June 2010

Note For Editors 

Irish Internet Hotline (www.hotline.ie) 

The www.hotline.ie service was launched in November, 1999. The hotline provides a central point of contact for members of the public in Ireland who become aware of any child pornography or other illegal content on the Internet. The hotline accepts reports about such material and attempts to identify the source. If the material is hosted in Ireland, it will request the relevant ISP to remove it, in accordance with the Code of Practice and Ethics. The hotline liaises with the Gardaí as appropriate.

To provide a fast response to illegal material that is hosted outside the Irish jurisdiction, the Hotline is a member of INHOPE, the international organisation of Internet Hotlines. The INHOPE organisation applies rigorous standards to which its members must adhere. These are provided in the INHOPE Code of Practice to which the Hotline has signed up

The Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland funds the operating costs of the hotline. In 2009, the Hotline received funding for up to 50% of its eligible operating costs from the EU's Safer Internet Programme.