Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I would like to support Sinn Féin's very reasonable amendment on fluoride. In our debate on 1 October, I remember Sinn Féin saying something which made me smile, namely, if people want fluoride, they can buy a tube of toothpaste and wash their teeth because there is enough fluoride in a pea-sized amount of toothpaste to do a person for the entire day.

I want to give Senator Whelan a few facts. Chlorine is fantastic because it purifies the water. Fluoride has nothing to do with purification. Fluoride is supposed to keep cavities under control in our teeth. When we drink fluoride, it is going past our teeth at 100 miles an hour and into our stomachs, and, within a minute or two, it is in every single cell in our bodies. It is for our teeth, not for the rest of our bodies. It has been scientifically proven that if one wants to take fluoride, rubbing it on topically is the way to get fluoride, not through our water.

I want to remind the Minister that 98% of Europe has rejected fluoridation. What do we know in this country that the rest of Europe does not know?