Dress-up day in classes ruined
Fury at late notice about unsafe hand sanitiser gel
HUNDREDS of di s ap - pointed children woke to find that their school Halloween dress-up day was cancelled yesterday due to a late recall of hand sanitiser.
A number of schools across the country had to close following an 11pm notification on Thursday night that Virapro hand sanitiser was being recalled over possible public health concerns.
The Department of Agriculture made the announcement, but according to i ts own Biocidal Product Register, t he hand sanitiser should have been withdrawn from use on Tuesday.
Schools were allowed to close if they were not able to make alternative arrangements.
In a statement, the Department said that tests had shown that Virapro PCS100409, which is made in Turkey, did not comply with regulations, and contained methanol rather than ethanol.
‘Prolonged use of such sanitiser may cause dermatitis, eye irritation, upper respiratory system irritation and headaches,’ it said.
‘The company involved has been instructed by the Department to initiate an immediate recall of all products. Members of the public are advised to stop using this sanitiser with immediate effect. A Department investigation into this matter is ongoing.’
Assistant Secretary at the Department of the Taoiseach Liz Canavan said the supplier of this product was one of 11 which provided personal protective equipment to schools. She said additional funding was being provided to schools to help them find another supplier. It is understood 120 schools were affected. The Department of Agriculture did not answer a query regarding why it took two days for the announcement to be made.
Parents took to social media to complain, some stating that their children had been in tears when they heard their costume day in school would not go ahead.
Professor Anne Looney, executive dean of Dublin City University’s Institute of Education and chair of St Patrick’s Boys National School in Drumcondra, said: ‘Had we known at 6pm or 7pm we might have been able to open the school today – not finding out by accident on social media at 11pm.
‘A text or a message or a call might have just meant that we were able to open today, and the kids could have had the day that they were so l ooking f orward
May cause respiratory issues
to, she told Claire Byrne on RTÉ Radio 1. The principal of the school, Natasha Bassett, said she found out at around 11pm on Thursday night, through a notification on social media, and the decision to cl ose was made s hortly before midnight.
She said she knew it was ‘totally inadequate’ warning for parents to make other arrangements, but no solution could be found in time.
Ms Bassett added: ‘With dress-up day today, it’s been a tough year without much excitement or fun for the children, today was to be our highlight.
‘Our fantastic staff had put so much effort into what they were going to do today, so it is very disappointing, but we are going to make it up to pupils.
‘So hold on to their costumes – that’s the message we are going to send out today.’
Tim Ó Tuachaigh from Gaelscoil Ros Eo, Rush, Co. Dublin, said he was notified by email of the recall at 11pm. ‘I had to check if it was the actual sanitiser we use, and it was. And we use the same brand for antibacterial wipes, surface cleanser and hand spray. Now it seems everything we use in the school is going to be affected with this,’ he said.
Mr Ó Tuachaigh added: ‘It was dress-up day today, and parents very understandably are livid. I know children’s hearts will be broken t hi s morning. They went to bed last night at 7pm thinking, “I’m getting up tomorrow morning and putting on my costume and going to school,” so to wake up this morning and find school is closed, that’s not what you want at all.
In a statement, the HSE said that it had been formally notified about the issue with the hand sanitiser yesterday. It said it moved immediately to deal with the matter.
‘A dedicated recall team has been established to co- ordinate the collection of product currently in the healthcare system,’ a spokesperson added.
‘Children’s hearts will be broken’