Thousands of Sony Playstation 1 games consoles destined for shops in the Republic have been impounded by Dutch authorities after a health scare.
Sony said yesterday the decision would probably mean that shops here would not have enough consoles to meet Christmas demand.
Sony's newer and more popular model, the Playstation 2, is not effected.
Officials in the Netherlands this week impounded 1.3 million games consoles and 800,000 accessories because of high levels of a toxic substance called cadmium. Cadmium, which is found in the cables and plastic sheathing of consoles, can cause kidney damage if people are exposed to it in excessive amounts.
Following a routine check Dutch authorities found the cables contained between three and 20 times the allowed amount of cadmium. Within the EU no goods are allowed to be imported that contain more than 0.01 per cent cadmium.
A Sony spokesman told The Irish Times yesterday it did not accept that the levels of cadmium presented a health risk. The question was whether it would have an environment impact from recycling, he said.
He said Sony would go back to suppliers and ensure the products meet European standards. Shipments in quantity would resume from next week, he said.
Sony's Playstation range of consoles have proved extremely popular in the Republic.
Yesterday a staff member at a Dublin video games shop, Electronics Boutique, said it was still selling Playstation 1 consoles. "People are still buying the Playstation 1 but the majority of models sold are Playstation 2s," he added.