OPINION After my own father went missing I understood other families

WHILE sitting in a barber shop one day, I heard a man called Cormac Cremin on radio making an appeal for help finding his brother Pearse, who was and still is a missing person.

I felt sorry for Cormac and his family, but could not say I understood their pain and frustration.

Not too long after that, in January of this year, my own father went missing and I began to understand exactly what Cormac was going through.

My father Thomas was missing for over three and a half months until some friends and I found him deceased on the Cobh coastline in Co Cork.

Within the heartbreak, pain and loss, lay a strange sense of relief. Despite the tragic end, we had closure on the greatest pain of all, the not knowing.

It was not the closure we had hoped for, but it was closure nonetheless, and for that we were grateful.

Looking back over the whole ordeal, I realise that my father, my family and I, were transformed from human beings into statistics by the present Government, especially by the Justice Minister John O'Donoghue.

They did so by their total lack of interest in putting measures in place, to assist and address this serious and growing problem of missing persons in this country, which averages two thousand people a year.

The current situation when a person becomes missing in Ireland, is that you report it to the gardai and hope for the best - that is where it begins and ends.

There is no helpline for missing persons or their families, no special regional garda units devoted full time to investigating missing persons cases and there are no adequate counselling services for those affected by this terrible situation.

Is the Government aware of this? They most certainly are.

It has been brought to their attention on countless occasions by others as well as ourselves.

Have they done anything about it? They most certainly have not.

Based on averages, five people will be reported and accepted as missing by the gardai by the end of today.

It will be the same tomorrow and every day this year.

So where do we go from here? And what do we do?

We have created a support group for the family members of missing persons so they can give each other comfort and help.

We put family members of missing persons in contact with those who are suffering the same as themselves, so that they can support each other.

We have a website where we can put details and photographs of the missing on so the public can help in locating them.

We have a structured committee that oversees the whole problem of missing persons and we are in the process of creating a 24-hour helpline for missing persons and their families.

WE HAVE to set up this hotline ourselves as there is no such line in existence in Ireland at the moment.

Why are we doing this? Simply because these measures are badly needed.

Those of us who were deprived of this do not want to see those who need it left in the dark, as we were.

This could be you sitting in the barbers right now and having your hair cut and reading this article. Sound familiar?

I know from my own experience that talking to people like Cormac Cremin is a great source of comfort to me.

I am also in contact with Mary Phelan, sister of missing Jo-Jo Dullard and Fr Aquinas Duffy, whose cousin Aengus is still missing.

This does not take away the pain or frustration, but it does help to reduce the feeling of isolation.

We would like to extend an invitation to family members of those missing to contact us and we will give all the help we can.

To those whose job it was to help - but chose not to - we say, shame on you.

You are paid to serve the people of this country, so at least have the decency to earn your wage.

If any person out there has any information that may help to bring closure on any missing persons case, I plead with you to do so.

You may never see the extent of the good you do by making that one phone call, but I promise you it will be next to impossible to do a better deed in your entire life.

All calls will be treated in the strictest confidence. We can be contacted at 021-4303120 or on mobile 086-3214079. Email me at david@missing.ws or visit our website at www.missing.ws

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