Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour)
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513. To ask the Minister for Health the reason for fluoridation in the water here. [20113/13]

Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour)
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514. To ask the Minister for Health if the policy of fluoridation of our national water system has been reviewed recently. [20114/13]

Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour)
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565. To ask the Minister for Health the health benefits and the reason for fluoridation in water here [20112/13]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 513, 514 and 565 together.

Water fluoridation and the use of appropriate fluorides is a major plank of public health policy in Ireland in the prevention and management of tooth decay. Fluoridation of public water supplies is provided for in the Health (Fluoridation of Water Supplies Act) 1960. The policy of water was reviewed by the Forum on Fluoridation, which published its report in 2002. It concluded that the fluoridation of public piped water supplies should continue as a public health measure. In 2011 the EU Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER), published its ‘Opinion on critical review of any new evidence on the hazard profile, health effects, and human exposure to fluoride and the fluoridating agents of drinking water’. The main conclusions of the SCHER report are that there are no known health implications from fluoridating water at levels used in the EU.

The Irish Expert Body on Fluorides and Health, established in 2004, monitors new and emerging issues on fluoride and its effects on health and related matters. It advises that the balance of scientific evidence worldwide confirms that water fluoridation, at the optimal level, does not cause any ill effects and is the safest and most cost effective method of protecting the oral health of the population. The opinion of the Expert Body is supported by the World Health Organisation; the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the Public Health Service and the Surgeon General of the United States; the World Dental Federation; the International Association for Dental Research; the Royal College of Physicians of England and by major international scientifically validated reviews in many countries. The Expert Body keeps the policy of water fluoridation under constant review.