Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Do I read the topical issue into the record or is it recorded automatically?

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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It is automatic.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Some have referred to it as a tropical issue.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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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.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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First, I sympathise with the family of Dean Regan Russell and indeed with Deputy Ó Caoláin, who I know is a close family friend. I cannot begin to imagine what an impact this has had on the family.

As the Deputy knows, both the National Consumer Agency and the National Standards Authority of Ireland have a role in the matter. The National Consumer Agency has primary responsibility for non-food consumer safety, and it has been campaigning to achieve safer standards since 2002. It was at the agency's initiative that the 2009 standard that is in place was brought in, and on foot of that it placed a warning on its website, followed it up with a consumer guide on safety, wrote to 222 manufacturers and retailers, ran a nationwide market surveillance campaign and visited 97 retail outlets.

I understand from the reports that the allegation is that the products that were sold in 2010 were not in compliance with the 2009 standard, but I mention those facts to give members a picture of the effort that was put in at that stage. People have recognised that the existing standard is inadequate. That is what prompted the request for a revision of the standard. It does not cover made-to-measure blinds and various other cases are excluded. A new standard is being developed and the closing date for comments was extended to give people a chance to make further submissions.

I am told that the difficulty with the call for prohibition from the coroner, the family and indeed Deputy Ó Caoláin, which I can understand, is that Ireland cannot unilaterally introduce such a ban. It would have to obtain approval from the European Commission and other member states, and the advice I am receiving is that such approval is unlikely to be granted because work is being undertaken on improving the standard. The best approach is to have products installed with the safety features that make them safe rather than to ban a particular type of blind. That approach is being pursued here, limiting the risks from loop chord mechanisms by requiring manufacturers to fit risk prevention measures in the design and by supplying proper safety advice with the product. I am advised that the prohibition route is not open to Ireland for unilateral action. The approach being adopted is to make all products safe.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for the reply but it is a great disappointment. It beggars belief that we cannot take the simple and reasonable steps to protect young children, a number of whom have lost their lives in this jurisdiction, particularly after the coroner made his informed recommendation on Friday. Must we wait for others across the European Union to recognise the real dangers involved? It is most regrettable we cannot take the required steps and be world leaders in child safety measures.

I ask the Minister to review the decision and to examine the information he gave us today to see if there is not a way to impose an alternative design on the manufacturers. It is not a case of putting them out of business; far from it. Undoubtedly, however, easy adjustments can be made to remove the loop from the blind chord. That is the key danger.

If we were talking about a defective car, would we for a moment say that we would not arrange for the recall of defective cars because we had to wait for some other jurisdictional call for said to happen? If defects were found in a range of vehicles provided in this country, we would take the required step to ensure they were recalled to enhance road safety, not only of the owner and user but of all road users. Why would we not apply the same thinking for this particular danger that exists in the homes of countless numbers of our citizens, if not in all our homes? The alternative is readily available. Manufacturers will not be at any greater expense and we will have removed a real threat to infant children and would be applauded internationally for it. I recommend the proposition for that reason.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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A process of consultation on the new standard is under way and I will ask that the Deputy's comments are taken into account.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I have already made a submission to the body.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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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.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The product is defective and manufacturers must face up to their responsibilities. Who will compensate the Regan Russell family and all of the other families for their loss?