THE NATIONAL Consumer Agency has warned parents and carers to protect young children from the possibility of being injured or strangled by window-blind cords.
Accidents involving blind cords have caused a number of deaths of Irish children, most recently a two-year-old boy who died when a cord got accidentally wrapped around his neck in his home in Co Cork earlier this year.
These deaths have prompted the National Standards Authority of Ireland and the NCA to remind blinds manufacturers and sellers of the European safety standards applying to the product. These require the manufacture to incorporate risk prevention in the design or supply an appropriate safety device with the product.
Yesterday the agency warned that blind cords ending in loops are particularly risky. Where possible, cords should be cut to get rid of the loop, which poses a choking hazard, and tassels installed.
Cords should be at least 1.6 metres above the ground so children cannot reach them. Where the cords cannot be cut because of the mechanism of the blind, a tie-down or tension device can be used to pull the cord tight and secure it to the floor or wall.
The agency says parents should never put a cot, bed, high chair or playpen near a window or patio door where a child could reach the curtain or blind cord. Sofas, chairs and tables should be kept away from windows to prevent children climbing up to reach cords.
NCA chief executive Ann Fitzgerald said: “By following some simple measures, parents can help minimise the risk posed to children from window blind cords.
“However, the new safety measures on their own cannot totally remove the risk of strangulation or injury to children.”
Under EU law, the onus is on manufacturers, importers and retailers to ensure that products placed on the market do not pose a safety risk to consumers.