Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 24:

In page 9, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following:"(g) to review the use of fluoride in the water supply, and to issue recommendations to Irish Water on the use of fluoride in water.".

Táimíd ag cur leasú chun cinn anseo a bhaineann le fluairíd a bheith á chur san uisce agus an ról atá ag an an bhfóram poiblí seo maidir le hUisce Éireann. The Minister is obviously aware that there has been a major debate about fluoridation, even in these Houses, in the past while. With regard to the role of the public water forum within Irish Water, this is an issue that could be addressed, and the forum could have a positive role in addressing it. The amendment proposes that the group review the use of fluoride in the water supply and issue recommendations to Irish Water on the use of fluoride in water.
As opposed to comments and suggestions, the idea of recommendations is important, and that word is extremely important in this scenario. We know that the fluoridation of our water supply started in 1964 after the introduction of the Fluoridation of Water Supplies Act 1960, that it was a very crude way of medicating the public with fluoride and that consecutive Governments have overseen the addition of fluoride to drinking water for 50 years. There has been widespread opposition of fluoridation since Gladys Ryan took her case to the High Court in 1964 on the basis that citizens had no choice but to drink medicated water. We believe it is time to stop this mass medication. The evidence is there for all to see. Ireland is one of only four EU member states that support fluoridation of water, and Switzerland was the last European country to end fluoridation in 2000. The European Directorate General for Health and Consumers has stated that "people do not need [fluoride] for normal growth and development". The European Court of Justice has defined fluoridation as a medication and it has refused to sanction its implementation, yet our Government continues to impose fluoride on the population at a cost of €4.8 million per annum. This is an issue that affects 84.8% of the population. It does not discriminate, so everyone gets fluoride in their water regardless of their age or health. In fact, the highest dose goes to bottle-fed babies. This over-exposure to fluoride has serious side effects. Dr. Robert Balan claims that recent studies show that exposure to fluoride induces central nervous system disturbance. He also linked fluoride to a high risk of Alzheimer's and osteoarthritis. International studies prove tooth decay does not increase when fluoridation stops. The truth is that we receive enough fluoride in our toothpaste to deal with that issue.
I raise this not as a party political issue but as an issue of public health. I hope this is an amendment that the Minister and Senators can support.Regardless of whether we agree on the fluoridation issue, we ask that the public water forum have a role in this area - that it review the use of fluoride in the water supply and issue recommendations to Irish Water on its continued use in the public water supply. There are other Senators here who are passionate about this. We introduced a Bill on this issue. We felt it had to be addressed and it should have been addressed but, unfortunately, that Bill was not passed. If we are to allow this public water forum to have any meaningful role, in the public mindset there is a great deal of debate on this issue, and the forum should at least be given the role of making recommendations on this issue.