Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to hear the HSA has taken the matter seriously because it accounts for such a high number of household poisonings, in particular affecting young children. The answer I received could be broken down into two points. The first is the commendable measures the HSA and the National Poisons Information Centre are taking in partnership with industry. We will wait until June to see what measures are agreed. However, industry-led undertakings in other countries did not lead to child-proofing of products and the status quo prevails.

I am pleased to hear about the backing of EU regulation if industry-led measures do not go far enough. We must seriously examine the situation in June. The fact that we are speaking about the matter in the House allows us an opportunity to flag it with parents. Given that the product is only labelled as an irritant and it is considered to be an innocuous product with which we wash our clothes, people do not have the same sense of urgency about keeping it out of the reach of young children as they would perhaps with other household products such as bleach, which automatically rings alarm bells with parents. We must keep an eye on progress in the matter.

I am also pleased to hear the HSA and industry will embark on a public awareness campaign in June. However, I am concerned that the measures to be taken will not go far enough because when a similar solution was sought in America, nothing changed there. The issue merits our attention and action in view of the corneal damage that could be done to a child’s eye and the other risks posed by such detergent products.

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