All companies should now be preparing for a worst possible Brexit scenario, Business Minister Heather Humphreys has warned.

A coroner has issued a fresh warning about the dangers of window blind cords after hearing harrowing details about the death of a toddler in a freak accident.

People are being urged to install a carbon monoxide alarm in their home - with six people dying each year as a result of unintentional poisoning.

A total of 66 taxi drivers were issued official warnings last year after their taxi-meters were found to be inaccurate, it was been revealed.

Tiger Woods won his first US Masters; Bertie Ahern was due to become taoiseach; khaki cargo pants were all the rage; and American pop brothers Hanson were about to unleash their debut single on an unsuspecting world.

Students are being warned to always look for standards when buying electrical goods - particularly the CE Mark symbol.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

More than one in five weighing scales in shops gave false readings last year, while more than a third of taxi meters also failed inspection.

All toys bought online should be thoroughly checked for loose screws and missing parts before being given to children.

The mother of a 3-year-old boy who was almost strangled to death by a blinds cord last night said she feels very lucky her son lived through the near-tragedy in his own sitting room.

The National Standards Authority of Ireland is urging people buying fancy dress costumes, to check for safety labels and standards.

Mid-West Correspondent Jimmy Woulfe meets a couple coping with son’s death

Limerick County Council yesterday became the first Irish recipient of an international quality award for drinking water.

The National Consumers Agency has welcomed the announcement that new standards are being put in place to make window blinds safer.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton has unveiled new Government-backed standards to guide businesses small and large on moving to cloud computing.

The Wexford Farmer’s Co-op Society has put a weighbridge in order and the verification has been successfully completed, following a prosecution by the National Standards Authority of Ireland.

The mother of a French student has been awarded €47,500 after he died as a result of the inhalation of gas from a cooker at his rented home in Co Cork.

MORE than 2,000 warnings were issued to the operators of faulty measuring instruments such as fuel pumps, taxi meters and supermarket weighing scales last year.

TRACES of bacteria were found in 25% of agricultural diesel samples tested in a nationwide survey commissioned by the IFA.

CONSUMERS can save more than €1,000 in 2011 by negotiating, paying up-front and reading the small print.

A COMMITTEE has been established by the National Consumer Agency in conjunction with the National Standards Authority of Ireland to improve safety with window blinds.

THERE are few things people take for granted as much as they do water.

HALLOWEEN is becoming frighteningly popular but consumers should budget for their celebrations to avoid financial horrors at Christmas, the National Consumer Agency (NCA) has said.

TRAILERS full of timber can be seen moving on roads across the country these days, as people secure their wood supplies for winter firing and the unmistakeable whine of the chainsaw echoes through the land.

DRINKING water in Ireland is in danger of failing to meet the EU’s water quality standards, experts have warned.

HOUSEHOLDERS about to go on holidays are being warned to secure their homes as burglaries soar during the summer months.

IRISH business may rebuild international credibility with a combined voluntary code of corporate governance practice for private companies and state bodies.

THE 14-month-old daughter of a heavily pregnant woman has died in Ireland’s latest window blind cord hanging tragedy.

The campaign by trade unions against Government imposed pay cuts on public servants is gathering momentum.

Every parent’s worst nightmare must be the death of a child due to a freak accident in the home. Unfortunately, it happens all too often, so parents cannot be too careful.

WHITE-WASHED walls, a clutch of children’s toys, a line of flapping clothes. From the outside, the home of Gillian and Shane Malley looks like any other family home.

A 37c SAFETY clip for blinds could have saved the life of two-year-old Arran Malley. It’s a bitter truth his devastated parents will have to live with for the rest of their lives.

The death of a two-year-old child in a domestic accident must be every parent’s worst nightmare.

CROSPON, a medical device developer based in Galway said its drug delivery system, EndoFLIP has received CE Mark certification from the National Standards Authority of Ireland.

A FORMER tánaiste and a number of ex-ministers are on the Government panel from which the six major banks and building societies covered by the guarantee scheme are to select additional board members.

The country’s food safety watchdog tonight insisted it did not cover up potential health risks over bottled water contaminated by E.coli.

The country’s food safety watchdog was tonight accused of failing the public after it did not warn over potentially dangerous contamination of bottled waters.

MANY CCTV videos are inadmissible in court because of poor quality images and bad installation, the official standards body said yesterday.

ALMOST all inflatable lifejackets on sale in Ireland are practically useless because they are not equipped with life-saving crotch straps.

NORMALLY it is the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food who presents certificates at functions country wide.

THE National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) is targeting the €115 billion medical devices industry with a major investment that will speed up CE marking.

The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) today announced that it will be targeting the €115bn global medical devices industry in a bid to increase foreign direct investment into Ireland.