Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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Question 691: To ask the Minister for Health if he will carry out a public health survey on the effects of fluoridation of public water supplies as no Irish Government has carried out such a survey during the past 40 years even though it is a requirement under the Health (Fluoridation of Water Supplies) Act 1960 ; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15576/12]

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 706: To ask the Minister for Health if he has met with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government regarding the serious concerns over the fluoridation of the water supply by local authorities in view of the fact that there has not been sufficient information gathered on the implications of this practice for public health. [15694/12]

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 691 and 706 together.

Since the introduction of water fluoridation under the Health (Fluoridation of Water Supplies) Act 1960, my Department has commissioned a series of dental epidemiological research studies. Adult epidemiological surveys were conducted in 1979, 1990 and 2002 and data on children's oral health was gathered in 1961-63, 1984, in a number of local surveys in the 1990s and in 2002. A bio-monitoring study of total fluoride intake in Ireland is planned and the HSE is currently considering the establishment of a high level advisory group to provide technical and academic oversight of the study.

The Forum on Fluoridation, which reported in 2002, advised that the fluoridation of piped public water supplies should continue as a public health measure. One of the recommendations of the Forum was to amend the Fluoridation of Water Supplies Regulations, 1965 to redefine the optimal level of fluoride in drinking water from 0.8 to 1.0 parts per million (ppm) to between 0.6 and 0.8 ppm. Regulations were introduced in 2007 to give legal effect to this change.

The Irish Expert Body on Fluorides and Health, established in 2004, advises that the balance of scientific evidence worldwide confirms that water fluoridation, at the optimal level, does not cause any ill effects and continues to be safe and effective in protecting the oral health of all age groups. The report of the EU Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER), published in June 2011, has not made any findings of negative health or environmental effects concerning fluoridation of water. There are no plans to discontinue the policy of fluoridation of public water supplies, which continues to make an effective contribution to oral health in Ireland.