New Child safety guidelines launched with warning’s for parents about window blinds
New guidelines for parents and childcare providers to minimise the risk to toddlers posed by window blinds have been issued and published by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI).
There have been a number of incidents involving children because of window blinds, with loop cords and chains posing a strangulation risk.
Five young children have been strangled in window-blind cords and chains in Ireland, according to one group campaigning for greater safety controls in the area.
A website, windowblindsafety.ie, was set up in 2009 to promote awareness of the dangers of window-blind cords after Arran Malley, a child from Cork, died after being strangled by the cord of a Venetian blind.
In January last year, Kerry toddler Dean Regan Russell died after his neck became entangled in the loop cord of a roller window blind.
Publishing the new standards, NSAI chief executive Maurice Buckley said: “Product standards are developed to protect and benefit the consumer and safety is a key priority.
“Window blind cords that can form loops pose a serious risk to young children, who can become entangled in the cords when playing near windows or climbing on window sills or furniture.”
The authority said the two safety standards published yesterday go further than European requirements.
One deals with the safety of corded window products and includes guidance for measuring, manufacturing, installation and retrofitting. The authority provides guidance to those that may be involved in the purchasing of internal window blinds, such as Government agencies, childcare centres, schools, libraries and wholesalers.
The other standard is for internal corded window products, which applies to blinds with an accessible cord or chain. It includes honeycomb and pleated blinds, roman shades and other similar products.
The authority also issued simple advice for parents, noting “cords ending in a loop are particularly risky”. The advice includes:
* Cutting the cord to get rid of any loops and replace them with tassels.
* Cords should end at least 1.6m (5.2ft) off the ground so children can’t reach them.
* Never place a cord near a child’s cot, bed, playpen or high chair.
* Parents should also keep sofas, chairs, tables and shelves away from children to prevent them from climbing up and reaching cords.
Mr Buckley said the authority was “currently undertaking a number of proactive steps to ensure that Irish manufacturers and suppliers of window blinds are made aware of the current revised standard”.
Dramatic 16% increase in teen suicides in Ireland 2003 to 2008 ‘new study report shows’
Teen Suicide graph & where people turn to for help.
A new study has shown a dramatic increase in the number of deaths by suicide in Irish teens under the age of 17.
The report, published in this month’s Irish Medical Journal, shows a 16% increase in the suicide rate amongst young people in 2003 to 2008 – when compared with 1993 to 1998.
Ireland has the fourth highest youth suicide rate in the EU and it remains the leading cause of death for young men aged between 15 and 24.
And Joan Freeman, the CEO and Founder of Pieta House suicide crisis centre, says many young people here aren’t aware of the gravity of suicide.
“If there’s a death by suicide in a young person, immediately there are message put on their Facebook page and these messages would say things like ‘save a seat for me’ and really that is demonstrating very clearly that young persons have no idea of the fatality of suicide.”
Legal action threatened for the non-payment of Ireland’s €100 household tax charge
LGMA chief executive Paul McSweeney above right said they were reluctant to take legal action, but would do so if necessary.
Over 61% of households in the Republic of Ireland have paid the €100 levy house charge
Homeowners in the Republic of Ireland who have not paid a 100 euros household charge have been warned they will face legal action.
The state body responsible Local Government Management Agency (LGMA for collecting the payment said a second warning letter was in the process of being sent out to those who have not yet paid and he said legal action against non-payers could begin with months.
Campaigners against the charge say they will provide legal advice and support for anyone taken to court for non-payment.
“Letter number two will be going out now to landlords. Certainly we would expect that after three letters, some action is going to need to be taken,” he said.
“To be honest, we’re not really interested in doing that. We want to provide local services.
“Taking people to court, or prosecuting them, that’s not the business we’re in. We are in the business of supplying local services to communities.”
The flat rate charge is the first tax on domestic property since rates in the Republic were abolished in 1997.
The government said the money collected via the charge would be used to provide services at a local level.
People based in Northern Ireland who also own a home in the Republic are also liable to pay the charge.
New poster (turn off the red light) backs new prostitution laws in Ireland
A new poster for the Turn Off The Red Light campaign which seeks a change in the law to make it illegal to pay for sex
A campaign to criminalise men who pay for sex rather than prostitutes has hit the streets with an alarming billboard advert.
The public is being targeted in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Sligo and Waterford as lobbyists raise awareness using the story of 14-year-old Anna who was forced into sex work.
Denise Charlton, chief executive of the Immigrant Council of Ireland which has helped spearhead the campaign, said all avenues need to be explored to raise awareness and force a law change.
“It is now vital that the campaign to end exploitation and human trafficking uses every possible opportunity to inform people about the issues involved,” she said. “The story of Anna depicted on the billboards is in no way unique and reflects a reality which exists in every county in Ireland.”
The Turn Off The Red Light Campaign cited Department of Justice figures for 2011 which show that eight children were trafficked into Ireland for sexual exploitation, with 15 detected in 2010.
The group is encouraging members of the public to show their support and voice their views on social media, with #AnnaWas14 being used on Twitter.
Ms Charlton said: “Public support is needed to bring about real change and we hope the billboard and Twitter campaign will motivate people to contact their local politicians and demand that the sex trade is shut down by making it illegal to pay for sex.
“The opportunity for change is now and if we let it slip by it may not re-occur for decades to come.”
The billboard campaign coincides with an August 31 deadline for written submissions to the Dail Justice Committee on whether vice laws should be changed.
Turn Off The Red Light campaigns to end prostitution and sex trafficking in Ireland and is backed by more than 50 organisations including trade unions, political parties and rights groups. It wants to make Ireland’s vice laws similar to Sweden where people who pay for sex are criminalised before the prostitute.
The cruel suffering of fin whale in Baltimore harbour prompts calls for animal euthanasia
The plight of the stranded whale had attracted thousands of visitors to Baltimore over the past three days.
The deathof a fin whale in Baltimore harbour yesterday after being stranded there for three days has highlighted the need for the development of protocols to deal with such incidents, according to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group.
Dr Simon Berrow of the group confirmed that the whale, estimated at up to 15m (50ft) long, died yesterday at about 11am after it stopped threshing about in a corner of the harbour near the pier.
Dr Berrow said he had been in discussions with the Defence Forces at the time of the whale’s death.
He said both the Army and the Naval Service were willing to attempt to euthanise the animal, which had been ailing since injuring itself on rocks in the harbour on Tuesday.
Dr Berrow pointed out that while the Defence Forces were willing to assist in putting down the distressed animal, the group had no authority to commission or request them to do so, and the case highlighted the need for the development of protocols in this regard.
“We’ve spoken to the Wildlife Service of the Department of Heritage and they’ve indicated a willingness to meet with ourselves and the Defence Forces to try and develop some protocols to deal with such incidents because they will arise again when whales get stranded,” he said.
Dr Berrow said he was not aware of any plans to carry out a postmortem on the whale as logistically it would be a difficult exercise and the veterinary experience necessary to carry out an autopsy was not readily available in Ireland.
A Cork County Council spokesman confirmed the local authority had begun preparing a plan to remove the whale by towing it away from Baltimore harbour up the river Ilen estuary to Oldcourt where it is expected it will be examined and its weight assessed.
According to the spokesman, the council will then seek to have the remains of the animal transported to a rendering facility for disposal in keeping with animal health regulations for the disposal of dead animals. This is expected to be completed within days.
The plight of the stranded whale had attracted thousands of visitors to Baltimore over the past three days, and even prompted a poem on the tragic event, Poor Brother Whale, by Caroline Hurley, published on the poetry site Poetry 24.
Plastic food chemical in container’s is linked to narrowing of arteries
A chemical widely used in plastic food and drink containers may narrow coronary arteries, raising the risk of heart attacks, research suggests.
High levels of bisphenol-A (BPA) in the urine were seen significantly more often in patients with severe damage to the arteries supplying blood to the heart.
Scientists analysed data from 591 participants in a UK study looking at the causes of coronary artery disease (CAD). In all, 385 patients had severely damaged arteries, while 86 were moderately affected and 120 were healthy.
BPA levels were significantly higher in those with severe CAD compared with individuals having normal coronary arteries.
A number of previous studies have already linked the chemical to an increased risk of heart disease. The new study suggests that the specific reason for the association may be narrowing of the arteries.
Lead researcher Professor David Melzer, from the University of Exeter, said: “Our latest study strengthens a growing body of work that suggests that BPA may be adding to known risk factors for heart disease. Full proof will be very difficult to get, as experiments on this in humans are not feasible.”
BPA is used in refillable drinks containers, compact discs, plastic eating utensils and many other everyday products.
More than five million tonnes of BPA was manufactured globally in 2008, making it one of the most heavily produced chemicals by volume. The new findings are published in the online journal Public Library of Science ONE.
Concerns have previously been raised over the health risks of BPA to babies. In the past two years, the US and EU have banned the chemical from the manufacture of babies’ bottles and other feeding equipment.
Dr David Mosedale, who chairs the management committee for the Metabonomics and Genomics Coronary Artery Disease (MaGiCAD) study from which the data was drawn, said: “This… demonstrates the utility of intensively characterised cohorts like MaGiCAD, and highlights the need for further research into the long term effects of common environmental chemicals such as BPA.”
The benefits of the blinds is that it block the damaging rays UV rays which can enter to your room through window or door and also blinds help to protect our furniture from the sunlight etc
ReplyDeleteTo read more advantage so click on the link local blind suppliers