Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent) | Oireachtas source

This is a historic day as most people realise today is the first day in the history of the State that our citizens will be charged for their water. I could not think of a better day to put forward my motion for the fundamental right of citizens to choose whether or not they have their water medicated with fluoride given that from today, 1 October, they are paying for it.
It is inarguably a breach of the European human rights and biomedicine directive Article 1 which states, "Parties to this Convention shall....guarantee everyone...respect for their integrity and other rights and fundamental freedoms with respect to the application of biology and medicine." Article 5 states, "An intervention in the health field may only be carried out after the person concerned has given free and informed consent to it." As the Irish public has not given consent nor has it been given full information on the adverse risks, this medical intervention is in breach of these directives. I would like to see these human rights directives become law.
In March 2006 the National Research Council, an arm of the US National Academy of Scientists, issued a review of all the available literature on fluoride's health effects. The report was written at the request of the USA's Environmental Protection Agency. The report represented three years work of deliberations by a panel of 12 scientists who were selected for their balanced views. It acknowledged the following adverse effects of fluoride not previously identified: thyroid impairment; type 2 diabetes - an issue that upsets the Minister as Minister for Health; dental fluorosis; arthritis; bone fractures; lowering of IQ; and brain damage, the latter especially in the presence of aluminium. All of these effects with the possible exception of bone fractures and lower IQ can occur at one part per million, that is 1 ml per litre.
Eminent scientists, doctors, toxicologists and chemists have written countless books and reports on the adverse effects and dangers of fluoride. The Government has reviews that suggest this is perfectly safe. The National Research Council's three year reports say it is not safe. We all know for sure with any medical controversy we must err on the side of safety.
I am not a scientist, a doctor or a chemist and never will be, but having taken the NRC's findings into my thinking and considering the countless books that have been written by these erudite academics and scientists, I am not willing to continue to risk the health of my family, who are here today, by exposing them to fluoridated water or stand here as a Senator. I know for sure we cannot continue to take a chance. If even one minutiae of what these scientists, doctors, books and countless studies say is correct we must cease fluoridation and remove any risk from the future health of our citizens. I am pleased the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, is present but I wish the Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, was present also.
I might add that I believe every Irish citizen who chooses has the right not to pay Irish Water for water that is fluoridated. I am delighted to pay for Irish water but please do not put medication in it without my permission. Some 98% of Europe has rejected fluoridation so why are we still doing this? It is against the law in Holland but compulsory by law in Ireland. This makes no sense.
One of us has got it terribly wrong. I repeat my sentiment that just in case Sweden, Holland, Belgium and most recently Israel have got it right, should we not look at the issue?
Why do we not have the same labelling as our American counterparts, namely, "Warning, keep out of reach of children under eight years of age"? I have a tube of American toothpaste with me. As I have stated it reads,

Warning, keep out of reach of children under eight years of age. If more than that used for brushing is accidentally swallowed, get medical help or contact a poison control centre right away.

Based on this warning alone we should clearly understand that fluoride is a poison. Under US law, the FDA's warning must be on packaging, boxes and tubes in the United States of America. I have with me another tube of toothpaste which is Irish but does not have that warning.
I absolutely love everything to do with America. It brought fluoridation here in 1963 when it appeared to be the right thing to do. That was 51 years ago. In the US all fluoridated toothpaste carries a poison warning. If one swallows more than a pea sized amount, one should contact a poison control centre. The very same toothpaste sold here has no warnings. I ask the Minister to ask the expert group on fluoridation why our citizens are being kept in the dark about its dangers.
Critically, fluoride is added to tap water at potentially toxic levels. A glass of Irish tap water contains the same amount of fluoride as a pea sized amount of toothpaste. I am having dinner in the restaurant tonight and I hope to see the Minister of State there. I ask her to remember that a glass of tap water contains the same amount of fluoride as a pea sized amount in toothpaste. Fluoride is a pharmaceutical-grade chemical that goes into the toothpaste. We take an industrial grade from a super-factory in Spain, near the Basque region.

Excuse me if I cannot pronounce it. It is hydroflurosilicic acid that goes into our water. This is not quite as straightforward as fluoride. I have left a graphic with my speech - which I am going to give to the ushers now - on the toothpaste packaging, for everyone to see. There is nothing like seeing is believing.

On fluoride, many people have said to me, "Mary-Ann, I have been brushing my teeth for years. I have been drinking water. I am fine, my children are fine". However, it is a cumulative poison. I want to give the Minister of State an analogy. Think of tobacco. Think of the Minister of State and I having a cigarette tonight. We are not going to get lung cancer. We are going to have to smoke for a long time before it is going to have dreadful, devastating effects on our health. The Minister of State and I could have got a job in the shipyards in Belfast with the asbestos. We would not have died after three months but what about had we stayed there working as others did? After fifty years, deaths occurred. It is the same thing with fluoride.

Fluoride is a medicine. I tried to look at what levels of dosage we should take. One milligramme per hour? One milligramme every four hours or once a day? Drugs should be prescribed by body weight. We all know and understand that. Those who really are affected by the nationally prescribed drug, fluoride, are vulnerable young children, who are lighter in body weight. The Minister of State and I, if I can catch her attention for a moment, often come in here and talk about vulnerable babies. That is what I am here to talk about this evening. These are the people I really want her to think about. Never mind us old codgers and Senators. We have had our lives. These babies are lighter in body weight and drink three to four times more liquid than adults relative to their size. Therefore, they get three or four times more fluoride toxic effects. As they cannot excrete fluoride, 90% of it stays in their bodies. I am not quoting off the top of my head. Everything I am saying has been researched and can be backed-up. With one of the lowest breast-feeding rates in Europe, Irish mothers are feeding fluoridated water mixed with baby formula to our precious babies, their children.

It is arguably a breach of human rights to drug a population against their will via the water system.