Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

The complication is that many of these products were sold in accordance with the standards then prevailing. It is not open for the Government to call unilaterally for a recall of products issued in accordance with the standards that then prevailed without entering into compensation issues. We would be talking about huge numbers being recalled and I am not sure that is feasible.

The advantage of going the European route is that these standards will apply to every manufacturer and every product that comes into Ireland will be covered. The National Consumer Agency will police this and oversee it. The new standard will incorporate the safety measures that make looped blinds safe; that is the important thing. They will not allow a product to continue to be manufactured if it does not adhere to the safety standard that Deputy Ó Caoláin and I and every other parent want to see.

I will take into account what the Deputy said because he has every reason to make a strong plea and I will ask that his submission be closely reviewed in the process to see what we can do. Those, however, are the constraints that make it difficult to do what the Deputy proposes.

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