Many of the criticisms levelled at the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children have been "unjustified, unfair and simply inaccurate", the director of services said yesterday.
To date, Mr Paul Gilligan added, fund-raising had not been affected by the recent controversies. Questioned about the public perception of the society following reports that collectors had been short-changed of their commission, Mr Gilligan denied the public had been influenced by the allegations, but said the ISPCC would "review all of the criticisms and issues raised".
Fund-raising was continuing, he said, by those on commission and volunteers. Those on commission were receiving 10 per cent of the total collected. Mr Gilligan said staff were also involved in collecting. The society needed support now more than ever.
During 1998 Childline received 113,734 calls, down 16 per cent on the previous year. Just under half of these involved "full communication" between caller and counsellor. Mr Gilligan said there had been a significant reduction in the number of children phoning the line for fun or out of curiosity, and a trend towards more focused constructive use of the line by young people.
Some "24 per cent of these calls were from children who were phoning the line simply to chat about the ordinary experiences and frustrations of growing up," he said, "reflecting Childline's consistent efforts in recent years to encourage children to see the service as a resource belonging to them and not just as a problem line or a line for children who have been abused."
Mr Gilligan stressed that Childline was not primarily a referral service.
If a child called with issues relating to child protection the society advised on its policy on mandatory reporting and "explores with them the options, including the child providing identifying information which would be provided to gardai and the health boards", the ISPCC's Ms Annette MacArtan explained.