A scientific report slamming the government’s report into the fluoridation of Irish water, released in September, will be presented this week. The Voice report, written by leading scientists in the US, Britain and New Zealand, says the effectiveness of water fluoridation is not proved and that the government’s suggested small reduction of fluoride in the water has “no significant beneficial effects”.

The Labour Party and the Green Party are opposed to the addition of fluoride to the country’s water supply. Last year, 10 local authorities — including Dublin, Kerry, Sligo, Donegal, Leitrim and Longford — and seven urban district councils voted against fluoridation, but remain bound by the law to implement the policy. Since fluoridation of water was first proposed to counter poor oral hygiene in the late 1950s, 98 per cent of Europe has rejected the treatment.

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