Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, to the House.

Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As the Cathaoirleach has read out, this matter pertains to the need for the Minister for Health to provide an update to Members on the Health Research Board’s review of the international evidence on fluoridation of water and to indicate when its findings are likely to be published given that it was expected last year. A story on the front page of today's edition of The Daily Telegraphraises a fluoride link to weight gain and depression and states:

A study of 98 per cent of GP practices in England found that high rates of underactive thyroid were 30 per cent more likely in areas of the [highest] fluoridation. It could mean that up to 15,000 people are suffering needlessly from thyroid problems which can cause depression, weight gain, fatigue and aching muscles.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. The response I have is virtually the same I had the last time we debated this. The Senator is very passionate about it. As I said the last time I was here, I have no difficulty coming here to answer and be held to account by people who are passionate on particular issues, whether I agree with them or not. It is important. During our last debate, I told the Seanad I had been listening to the argument since I was an adult because my late father-in-law was as passionate about the Senator's side of the argument as she is. The difficulty is that the research has found no firm evidence on one side or the other, and this is why the Health Research Board was asked to examine the research in terms of the written evidence and come to a conclusion. I am not certain it will come to a conclusion. The report it was asked to produce will hopefully be completed and published this April. It has been delayed.

I have a great interest in research. Everybody in the country has been listening to the latest research on peanut allergy and whether one should feed peanuts to young children. The research now tells us that one should allow very small children to build up an immunity which may reduce the likelihood they will have allergies. While I am not certain which of us would be prepared to take the risk of doing it with our very small children, nevertheless research and people's opinions change constantly. We asked the Health Research Board to carry out a literature review for us, which it has done. It included the University of York review, which was published in 2000 in the UK, and which was quoted during our previous debate on this.It also included the Australian symptomatic review of the efficiency and safety of fluoridation, which was published in 2007 and the European Commission's scientific committee on health and environmental risks review published in 2011, to which the Department of Health contributed. None of these reports established any basis for suggesting that artificially fluoridated water poses health risks.

I am sure that research will emerge in future that will either confirm or deny the case made by the Senator. I do not have an opinion on the matter personally but, while I am open to persuasion, I must take on board the advice of the Health Research Board. The board began the review in 2014 and completed it in early January. The reason it has not yet published a report is because it has been submitted for international peer review to ensure accuracy and objectivity. It is the intention to publish the report in April and when that happens I am sure that either the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, or I will come to the Chamber to debate this topic again. Once the report has undergone the peer review process, I am sure it will contain the necessary objectivity. I am also sure that our attitudes towards fluoridation will change in the future in one direction or other. I acknowledge that the Senator is passionate about this issue and accept that she believes what she is saying but we cannot make decisions on this unless they are recommended to us by the people we have charged to prepare the report.

Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her reply and I look forward to the report's publication in April. I am passionate about this issue but I have also been careful to study the evidence and take advice. I am not a scientist but I wonder what the rest of Europe knows. Similarly, the US National Academy of Sciences produced the most comprehensive balanced scientific report on the issue in the history of the world. I take comfort from the Minister of State's assurance that the report will be sent for peer review. If the rest of Europe does not fluoridate water supplies, should we be taking this risk with our own population? I will be asking Senators to debate this issue as soon as the report issues. Does the Minister of State recall when we used to smoke on aircraft? I think we will look back and say "do you remember when we used to put fluoride in the water?".

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

That is why I believe not only our opinions but also science changes. Scientific reviews and peer reviews change over time. I agree with the Senator that we should examine the evidence and the policies in place elsewhere in the world.