Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2:

To delete all words after "Seanad Éireann notes" and substitute the following:"that water fluoridation is not medicinal but the adjustment of the natural concentration of fluoride in drinking water to the recommended level for the prevention of dental caries (tooth decay);
that water fluoridation is a safe and effective means of prevention of tooth decay;
that there is no evidence that water fluoridation, at the recommended level, causes any ill effects to human health; but that fluoridation, and its effects on health and related matters, is kept under constant review.".

I welcome the Minister of State the House. I also welcome this debate and it is important that Members bring up such matters for review on an ongoing basis and if there are new developments in this area, Members certainly should consider them. In the context of discussing the possibility of fluoridation causing problems, it is interesting to note that when the Act was passed in 1960, the average life expectancy in Ireland was then 69.69, whereas it is now 80.5.