A record number of dangerous products were banned from sale in Ireland last year.
Figures due to be published today by the European Commission show restrictive measures were imposed on 924 items that could have killed or maimed consumers.
Toys and electrical appliances top the list of dangerous products that were notified by EU states to the commission to be withdrawn from sale.
Motor vehicles, lighting equipment and cosmetics also rank highly on the EU's rapid alert system (RAPEX).
The 2006 annual report for RAPEX shows that Ireland notified 14 products to the commission as potentially dangerous.
These include a multiplay gym for children sold by Argos that resulted in 19 minor injuries to children that used the device; a skin lightening cream that posed risk of irritating skin; and batteries for Dell computers that could overheat in certain circumstances and cause burns under rare conditions.
Ireland was among the member states that made the least number of notifications to the commission.
However EU officials said in the first four months of 2007 Ireland has notified 14 products already - equalling its entire total of notified products last year.
In 2006 Germany (16 per cent) and Hungary (15 per cent) made the most notifications using the RAPEX system.
Overall there was a 32 per cent increase in the number of banned products in 2006 when compared to 2005. Officials said the increase was due to improved co-operation between custom authorities, which had detected a host of dangerous imports ranging from cigarette lighters to hair dryers.
China was indicated as the country of origin for 440 of the notified products (48 per cent), reflecting its prominence as the world's biggest manufacturing hub.
The report notes that the commission has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese authorities to improve the safety of products, particularly children's toys.
RAPEX statistics show almost a quarter of notifications (221) in 2006 concerned children's toys.
Electrical appliances made up 19 per cent of notifications; motor vehicles 14 per cent; lighting equipment 11 per cent; and cosmetics 5 per cent.
Businesses voluntarily removed 41 per cent of the notified products, while national authorities took compulsory measures to prevent the sale of the remaining items.
The five main risks identified from the banned products were: injuries (25 per cent); electric shocks (24 per cent); fire/burns (18 per cent); choking/suffocation (14 per cent; and chemical risk (9 per cent).