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	Cloyne Report Leads to Hundreds of Helpline Calls Irish Health July 14, 2011 http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=19486 Over 300 calls were made to sex abuse helplines in the time between the launch of the Cloyne Report on Wednesday afternoon and 8am on Thursday morning, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) has revealed. The report focused specifically on how the Catholic Church and the State handled allegations of clerical child sex abuse in the Cork diocese of Cloyne between January 1996 and February 2009. A total of 19 clerics came within the remit of investigations. The Commission of Investigation said that 'some 40 people' may have been affected by abuse. Following the publication of the report, the DRCC warned that it would 'again reopen the wounds of the victims involved and other victims around the country who had similar experiences' and may also trigger people’s memories for the first time. The HSE established a helpline to support people who may have been affected by the Cloyne Report (1800 742 800). It is open from 8am to midnight daily. The Rape Crisis Centre also runs a helpline which is open 24 hours a day (1800 77 88 88). According to DRCC chief executive, Ellen O'Malley-Dunlop, there were 'over 300 calls' made to the helplines from the time of the report's launch until 8am the following morning. “The people calling the helplines have been distraught at the continuation of the cavalier attitude towards the lack of action taken when victims and their families reported the crime of child sex abuse, as was evidenced in the Cloyne Report,"she commented. She emphasised that the courage that is needed to report such a crime 'is huge on the part of the victim and their families and they must be supported and responded to appropriately and adequately when they come forward'. Meanwhile, Ms O'Malley-Dunlop also welcomed the Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter's proposed legislation to make it a criminal offence to withhold information in relation to offences against a child or a vulnerable adult.
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