Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to address the Dáil and question the Minister on this important issue. At the outset, I extend my deepest sympathy once again to the family of Dean Regan Russell. Words cannot express the grief of a family that loses a young child in such a tragic manner. I salute the courage of this family, who have bravely spoken out in order to help prevent the deaths of other children.

I attended Dean's inquest at the Dublin Coroner's Court last Friday at the invitation of the family and it was a most harrowing experience. The coroner found that Dean Regan Russell, aged 23 months, died in Crumlin children's hospital after a fatal accident at his home in Tralee in January this year. He found the toddler had been strangled by the looped cord of a window blind. Dr. Farrell stated this was not the first such child fatality and he was prompted to repeat his previous call for this type of blinds to no longer be manufactured. He stated that the configuration of looped cord has, in his experience, caused the deaths of several infants in the Dublin area alone. He described it as a dangerous design and undertook to contact all relevant authorities to reiterate the recommendation that such blinds should no longer be manufactured and are a danger, a recommendation that I emphasise he has had to make previously. The European Commission has become aware of ten such fatal accidents involving children aged between 15 months and 36 months. They occurred in Ireland, Finland, the Netherlands, Britain and Turkey in the period 2008 to 2010, and in the US 119 fatalities involving corded window coverings are reported to have occurred since 1999.

When the Minister, Deputy Bruton, replies, he might refer to the draft standards for window blinds that have been issued for public comment by the National Standards Authority of Ireland. The closing date for comments was 23 September, which was last Friday, the very day of Dean Regan Russell's inquest. As I said in my submission, the draft standards are inadequate and should be withdrawn. In light of the coroner's findings, the standard required is that looped cords for blinds should no longer be manufactured and their sale in Ireland should be prohibited in law. Simple alternative designs are readily available.

I reaffirm the call for the banning of looped cords, a call I have made at the request of the bereaved family of Dean Regan Russell and on behalf of others bereaved in this way. If the Government took this course, which I commend to the Minister, we would become a world leader in this aspect of child safety. I will certainly continue to press for this outcome. In the meantime, I ask that we urge people with looped cords on their window blinds to cut them and apply tassels or other simple safety devices to prevent children from being endangered. I observe that this type of cord is widely used here in the Houses of the Oireachtas. In the interest of setting a good example, perhaps the same should apply here.

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