Blind cord tragedy - EU safety standards must be met

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.

The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) wrote to 140 suppliers and manufacturers of blinds throughout the country in April of this year advising of new EU safety standards, stipulating that a safety device should be attached to the cords of blinds. This is not a case of fussy regulations, but little more than minimum protection for vulnerable children.

A spot check this week of retail stores found readymade roller blinds for sale without safety devices. None of those stores were even aware that they stocked the safety devices. Although Maurice Buckley, the chief executive of NSAI, stated that this country has strong EU standards, it would seem they are being ignored in relation to blinds.

Of course, the issue of enforcing the standards is the responsibility of the National Consumer Agency (NCA). There is an obligation on suppliers to ensure that only safe products go on the market, and the NCA is supposed to take action if it becomes aware that safety standards are being violated.

The NSAI had already teamed up with the NCA to promote a nationwide campaign to inform people of the dangers last April. Both agencies have posted guidelines about the safety of blinds on their websites, and over 400 manufacturers, suppliers and fitters were notified about the new standards.

The two agencies are currently preparing a leaflet to warn the public of the danger of children getting caught up in the cords of blinds. These will be distributed in doctor’s surgeries, HSE clinic and Citizen Information Centres.

Maybe it is difficult to notify everybody who should be warned, but talk of a level playing pitch for suppliers is the kind of talk that gives business a bad name. The small, plastic safety device costs only 37 cent.

Fitting this device should be made a legal requirement for the seller. This is not about applying fussy stands; it is about protecting children. It would be an outrage if it took the death of another child to ensure that such a small step was taken.

Following yesterday’s inquest into the accidental death of two-year-old Arran Malley in Carrigtwohill last February, the coroner’s jury recommended that the voluntary safety standards introduced after Arran’s death should be observed and that people with blinds already installed should be advised of the dangers and the safety devices available. Shane and Gillian Malley should be commended for their courage in highlighting the tragedy as a warning to other unsuspecting parents.

Some 94 children were killed in the United States by strangulation on blinds since 2000. Too many people have been unaware of the dangers of the cords of blinds.

As many people as possible should be made aware of the dangers, because all it may take for a tragedy is the momentary distraction of a hassled parent.