TWO MORE COUNTY COUNCILS CALL FOR FLUORIDE BAN.

PRESS RELEASE 11/9/2001

Fluoride Free Water congratulates Fingal County Council and Kerry County Council on their recent stance against water fluoridation.

Dr. Don Mac Auley, Dental Adviser to Fluoride Free Water, commented, "the government’s compulsory medicating of the Irish population is not a just a breach of our human rights (freedom to choose) but flies in the face of democracy. They asked for the public’s opinion through the biased Forum on Fluoridation and 90% said "NO".(1) Now, there are 10 county councils and 7 urban district councils demanding the power to stop fluoridation.(2) The trickle of dissent is now a rising tide of protest. When will they stop this unsafe, undemocratic practice?"

This month Fingal County Council adopted a motion to pursue a policy to ban the compulsory addition of fluoride into the public water supply.(3) This will now be included in the council’s Corporate Development Plan. Councillor Heidi Bedell said it was a historic and highly significant shift in Fingal County Council policy. She added that the "motion is indeed a healthy step along the road to getting rid of fluoride from our water supplies."

Meanwhile in Kerry, there are moves towards a Fluoride Free Kingdom. On 18/6/2001, Councillor Jimmy Deenihan proposed, "[t]hat Kerry County Council requests the Southern Health Board to reverse the current policy of mandatory fluoridation of public water and to carry out immediate checks on the cumulative amount of fluoride in individuals in Kerry."(4) He explained, "less than 2% of the European population have fluoridated water supplies. In Northern Ireland 25 out of the 26 local authorities have banned the use of fluorine. Medical research suggests that the use of fluorine in water supplies is linked to skin irritation, cancer and ulcers and a number of other ailments."

The motion was passed and Councillor Deenihan stated that, "…it is important to send a message to the Minister voicing the concerns of Kerry County Council at the continued use of fluorine in the water supplies." Councillor Michael Gleeson who also supported the motion concluded that, "[t]he Government is obliged to take cognisance of research and to give serious consideration to the termination of the use of fluoride in water supplies."

References:

1 Irish Times 3/7/2001 Most submissions to Forum are anti-fluoridation: http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2001/0703/hom1.htm

2. Meath Wins Fluoride Battle 16/7/2001: http://homepage.eircom.net/~fluoridefree/meath.htm

3. Northside Dublin News 10/9/2001 Fluoride faces water ban http://www.bluepages.ie/site/news/nn4.shtml

4. Kerry County Council (minutes section) 18/6/2001 meeting http://www.kerrycoco.ie