Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

A consultation paper on the future of the Seanad is due to be published later. I urge every Member to read, study and consider it. Even those in favour of the abolition of the House should read the document. At some point in the future, I will ask the Leader if time can be found to debate it.

I wish to raise another point on which quite an amount of concern has been expressed, namely, the mandatory fluoridation of water. While Members have debated this issue previously, they should consider it again because it has been some time since they did so. However, there are concerns in this regard. When the addition of fluoride to drinking water was made mandatory, it was done so based on scientific evidence. However, that was quite some years ago and a number of reports from both the United States and Europe now suggest it may not be as favourable as was thought and the benefits derived from it may be outweighed by the disadvantages. There is expertise in this House on this issue and I am sure Senator Crown, who is sitting beside me, has views on it because one suggestion is that fluoride is carcinogenic, while others still maintain the benefits far outweigh those concerns. I make this point because this is precisely the sort of topic Members should debate in this Chamber, not necessarily immediately but some time within the next few weeks.