EXPLAINER: See all 52 Covid-19 sanitiser products removed from approved list

The Department of Education has written to all schools regarding the removal of some brands of hand sanitiser and other hygiene products from its approved list.

The products removed from the Education Sector Procurement Agreement on October 29 listed by category are:

WIPES

JBS Group

Disinfection Wipes AntiBacterial Park of 48 Alcohol free

Chlorhexidine Wipe pack 25

Reach Group

Belux Wipes Pack 72 (12 packs per case)

WorkWear Experts Ltd

Cargo White Anti-Bacterial Wipe 

IPA 70% Alocohol Wipe

Shaw Scientific

Sursol Anti Bacterial wipes

70% IPA Microsafe Cleansing Wipe (Case 1000)

Uniwipe Cleaning & Disinfecting wipes

Charles Hughes Ltd

Hand Wipes - Effective against E-Coli, Salmonella, etc

Surface Sanitiser Wipes IW51

Surface Sanitiser Wipes IW50

Hand Sanitiser Wipes WIW40

Surface Sanitiser Wipes WIW50

Aquila Bioscience

ABD Device

HAND SANITISER

5 Litre Bulk Fill Hand Sanitiser x 2

Sursol ALCOHOL FREE Hand Sanitiser - 100ml

Sursol ALCOHOL FREE Hand Sanitiser - 250ml

Sursol ALCOHOL FREE Hand Sanitiser - 500ml

Sursol ALCOHOL FREE Hand Sanitiser – 1 Litre

Sursol ALCOHOL FREE Hand Sanitiser – 5 Litre

Prosan 70% Alcohol Hand Sanitiser gel - 50ml flip   lid

Prosan 70% Alcohol Hand Sanitiser gel - 100ml   flip lid

Prosan 70% Alcohol Hand Sanitiser gel - 250ml   flip lid

Prosan 70% Alcohol Hand Sanitiser gel - 250ml   Pump top

Prosan 70% Alcohol Hand Sanitiser gel - 500ml   Pump top

Prosan 70% Alcohol Hand Sanitiser liquid  -   100ml Spray top

Prosan 70% Alcohol Hand Sanitiser liquid - 150ml   Spray Top

Prosan 70% Alcohol Hand Sanitiser liquid - 1000ml   flip lid

Prosan 70% Alcohol Hand Sanitiser gel - 5LTR   Screw Top

Critical Heathcare

Alcohol Hand Rub Bottle 60ml

Hand Santiser 520 ml

HAND SANITISER REFILL

Prosan 70% Alcohol Hand Sanitiser Gel - 5 litre

Critical Healthcare

Medi9 Hand Foam Refill Pouch

DETERGENT

JBS

Anti Viral 750ml Disinfectant Spray

BIO Chlorine Sanitising Tablets x 200 (1 per case)

CleanSmart Alcohol Free Surface Sanitiser 1 Litre

Sursol Surface Spray Products 500ml

Sursol Surface Spray Products 1000ml

Sursol Surface Spray Products 5 L

Workwear Experts

Bleach Regular 5 LTR - N00101/1 

UNCATEGORISED PRODUCTS (HAND SOAP AND DETERGENT)

Antibacterial Pearlised Hand Soap 5 Litre 

Charles   Hughes Ltd

Insta Clens Hand Soap 5L 

Shaw   Scientific

Prosan Anti Bacterial Hand Soap products 4x 5L

Prosan Anti Bacterial Hand Soap products 40 x 5L

Prosan Anti Bacterial Hand Soap products Pallet 200 x 5L 

Nugent Safety

Anti Bacterial Hand Soap 5 Ltr

Hand Soap Antibacterial Liquid

Anti-viral 750 ml Disinfectant spray 750ml (detergent)

Lennox

Bacterial Hand Soap

The announcement follows a review by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM) in the wake of instructions to cease use of ViraPro products. DAFM is the regulator in Ireland for biocidal products.

The Department of Education announced that it was taking 52 products off the approved list for schools. This was because it had not been possible to satisfactorily confirm their registration status as part of the review. 

The statement from the Department of Education goes on to say: “These products will not be included in our approved list for schools until their registration status has been confirmed.

“The Department has no evidence that these products are unsafe.

“The Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine and the Education Procurement Service are engaging directly with the suppliers concerned regarding the status of these products and it may be possible to reinstate these products to the agreement at a later date.”

Schools are advised not to use any stock of the products that have been removed, and to store them securely until they are collected by the supplier.

Any schools impacted by the removal of these products will be provided with funding to source new supplies. 

The statement continues: “As part of the procurement process for the Education Sector PPE Procurement Agreement in June and July, suppliers were required to confirm that their products were compliant with the regulations and provide documentation, were to provide information on their current live product range rather than future releases and to give examples of contracts in the last two years which included supply to the Irish public sector. 

“As part of the review process in recent days, all of the biocidal products included in the PPE agreement have been checked – both existing and new items. This involved reviewing 172 items from 14 suppliers.

“The Department of Education has decided to add a new supplier that replied to the procurement notice in June and has now confirmed they have the required biocidal registrations, and 23 new products to the agreement."

Suppliers and products on the agreement will be monitored on an ongoing basis and any further changes to the list will be notified to schools.   

Schools that have any difficulty sourcing an alternative supply or are concerned about a funding shortfall to cover this additional cost can contact the Department’s Covid-19 helpline or email address and Department staff will work to support schools. 

The Schools Covid-19 helpline on 057 9324461 will be open until 8.30pm on Thursday and from 8am on Friday until 8pm and from 10am to 5pm Saturday and Sunday. The email address is [email protected] . Emails will be monitored and replied to over the weekend.