Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister will be aware of the controversy that has surrounded the insertion of fluoride into our water supply, and it has been heating up recently. I draw his attention to an article in "Hot Press", a magazine I am sure he is familiar with, which discusses the fluoridation of our water.

This serious issue was addressed in an interview with Declan Waugh, who is a well known scientist. He draws attention to some of the more startling facts about fluoridation of water. I do not know if the Minister or other Members are aware that Ireland is the only country in Europe that continues this activity. It started in the 1960s in an effort to increase the strength, cleanliness and health of citizens' teeth. However, the facts that have emerged in this Hot Press interview and elsewhere are quite staggering.

Fluoride is an industrial waste chemical. It is quite alarming that Ireland has one of the highest cancer rates in Europe, as well as one of the highest rates of cardiovascular disease and probably the highest rate of diabetes. Due to the obvious connection, which I will try to trace for the Minister, an independent Irish inquiry is required into whether this fluoridation is causing the high rates of cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. There is evidence not just from Mr. Declan Waugh's interview but also from many international and distinguished investigations that fluoride is the cause of these diseases in many cases.

A very pertinent report was produced by the National Research Council in the United States in 2006. It found that fluoride reduces the body's ability to produce insulin, which is a serious consideration with regard to diabetes. It also found that the connection between fluoride and neurological diseases was very sinister. When we compare the incidence of these diseases here with the incidence in Northern Ireland, where water is not fluoridated, we see a stark comparison. People in the Republic are 4.5 times more likely to suffer from dementia between the ages of 39 and 59 than people in Northern Ireland. We are twice as likely to suffer from diabetes, and we are twice as likely to encounter incidents of Down's syndrome. Indeed, the only country in Europe that has a higher rate of cardiovascular disease is Kyrgyzstan, where fluoridation is just as rife as in the Republic of Ireland. Many studies in Harvard have also detected that neurological diseases are connected to fluoridation.

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