Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 June 2014
163. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health in view of the recent medical report in The Lancet which found that fluoride was a neurotoxin, if he will immediately move to cease adding it to our water supply. [26448/14]
View answerA number of studies from China, and the systematic review of these by Choi (from the Harvard Medical School) which claim an effect on children's IQ at very high levels of naturally occurring fluoride, were assessed by the Irish Expert Body on Fluorides and Health in 2011. They were found to be of no relevance to Ireland, given our regulated fluoridation levels. The view of the Expert Body is that the overall design of the studies is poor and they do not provide evidence of any effect on children's IQ from either high or low fluoride levels. This view was shared by SCHER (Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks) in its 2011 Review.
The review by Choi is the only paper on fluoride quoted in the report referred to by the Deputy. The report is a review, which contains no new data. The researchers have labelled chemicals as neurotoxicants without indicating how they arrived at the conclusion or whether other agencies agree with them. It should be noted that the Deans of Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Dental Medicine continue to support water fluoridation as a safe public health measure for people of all ages.
The Department of Health keeps the policy of water fluoridation under constant review. As part of this ongoing work, a review of evidence on the impact of water fluoridation at its current level on the health of the population and on the environment is being conducted by the Health Research Board on behalf of the Department. This review will be completed by December 2014.
