Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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203. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if there are regulations in place regarding safety standards for candles, either in terms of fire safety and toxins; and if there are future plans for further regulation. [37826/16]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 December 2001 on General Product Safety, transposed into Irish law by S.I. No. 199 of 2004, places the onus on all economic operators – manufacturers, distributors, importers – to ensure that only safe products are placed on the market. If economic operators become aware that products on the market present a potential hazard they must take appropriate measures, up to and including recall of the items, to ensure that the risk is removed. Any action taken by an operator must be notified to the relevant Market Surveillance Authority: in Ireland this is the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), which is statutorily independent in the carrying out of its functions. On the specific issue of safety standards for candles, three Irish standards currently apply:

- I.S. EN 15493 : Candles - Specification for Fire Safety

- I.S. EN 15494 : Candles - Product Safety Labels

- I.S. EN 15426 : Candles - specification for Sooting Behaviour

These Irish standards state that warning labels should be visible and legible. Warnings can include:

- never leaving a burning candle unattended;

- burning candles out of the reach of children and pets; and

- not burning candles on or near anything that can catch fire

If candles are compliant with the requirements of the relevant Irish Standards listed above, they are deemed or presumed to be safe with regards to the requirements of S.I. No. 199 of 2004. There are no plans for further national regulations in this area at present.