Clare Daly
Ceist:587 Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if he will conduct a comprehensive report on the use of fluoride in the water supply here and a cost benefit analysis regarding same [28024/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 12 June 2012
Ceisteanna (493)
Freagraí scríofa
The Forum on Fluoridation advised in 2002 that the fluoridation of public piped water supplies should continue as a public health measure. The Irish Expert Body on Fluorides and Health, which was established in 2004, monitors new and emerging issues on fluoride and its effects on health and related matters.
The Expert Body confirms that, based on the review of all previous and current international and national scientific data, the balance of this scientific evidence worldwide confirms that water fluoridation, at the optimal level, does not cause any ill effects and continues to be effective for protecting the oral health of all age groups. 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' in May 2011. The main conclusions of the SCHER report are that there are no known health implications from fluoridating water at levels used in the EU. There is also extensive evidence in Ireland from a series of national, regional and cross-border studies conducted between 1984 and 2006 that fluoridated drinking water substantially improves the dental health of children and adults.
My Department has no plans to conduct a cost benefit analysis on the policy of fluoridation. Policy on this issue is guided by international studies, which indicate that the cost of water fluoridation is a small fraction of the savings in dental treatment costs.