Popular elastic rubber yo-yo balls are to be withdrawn from the Irish market on the advice of the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs over fears they could strangle a child.
The move follows yesterday's outright ban on the balls in the UK after eight reported incidents in the past month of children getting the elasticated string wrapped tightly around their necks. Urgent risk tests undertaken on the balls in the UK concluded that the toys pose a risk of strangulation.
The ODCA has now written to importers, distributors and wholesalers of the yo-yo balls "regarding the need to withdraw these items from the Irish market".
The Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs, Ms Carmel Foley, "has powers to prohibit the marketing of products deemed unsafe".
The toys came on the Irish market last October but "the craze didn't hit until January or February" according to one distributor company. "We stopped stocking them a month ago in reaction to an OCDA alert about the death of a child from choking in France," said Ms Ger Voakes of Lion Toys Dublin.
Smyth's Toys at Jervis Street Shopping Centre, Dublin, ceased stocking the yo-yos "about three weeks ago".
"They were fantastically big sellers, very popular at €1.29 and were going very well in February," said Assistant Manager Mr Vincent McMullen. "We've had a lot of enquiries about their availability since," he added.
Chief Executive of the Consumers Association of Ireland, Mr Dermot Jewell, welcomed the move and said it was "important that rapid action was taken".
A warning has been issued on the ODCA website in relation to the yo-yo ball with advice for people who have already bought it. www.odca.ie