asked the Minister for Health if he will give an assurance that swimming in the canals which flow through Dublin will in no way increase the risk of polio.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Canal Swimming: Polio Risk.
1.
I am not aware of any evidence of an association between bathing in the canals and poliomyelitis.
At the same time, I am not in a position to give an unqualified assurance of the kind requested by the Deputy for were the waters in question to become polluted with sewage containing polio virus, there could be a risk to bathers of contracting the disease. For this reason and because of the risk of contracting other infections, the practice of bathing in the canals is one to be deprecated.