Gluten-free diet supplement

still a dancing queen

My niece was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease recently. She gets E107.70 jobseeker's allowance. She finds it a real struggle to keep to the gluten-free diet as it is so expensive. Apparently, she would have gotten a supplement of E32.50 per week if she had applied before February 2014, but nothing now because the scheme is closed to new applicants! Nearly in tears the other evening she asked "how random is that?" Does anyone have any suggestions?

splinter65

The supplement was there when special dietary foods were mostly confined to chemists shops and health food outlets and were very expensive and a very narrow choice of items.
Now that every supermarket has an entirely gluten free section (including Lidl and Aldi) it was deemed that it was just no longer necessary.
There isn’t anything else she can get from SW.
here is the contact number for Coeliac Ireland
https://www.coeliac.ie/contact-us/

I would be ringing them to see what help and advicevthey can offer.

still a dancing queen

Thanks Splinter for taking the time to respond. I followed the link you provided. Under "Financial Assistance" I see that you can claim tax back on money spent on gluten-free food if you are working, but there does not appear to be any mention of help if you are not working. I see from a Boards Coeliac food thread that people can get €500 per annum back in tax.

I checked the position about Chemists and the HSE site says that GPs might recommend supplements - but are referring to Vitamins - not sure if they require a prescription or if they are available on the medical card. My googling also discovered that in the UK gluten-free foods are available free on the NHS for certified Coeliacs. Also, Malta have recently introduced a voucher system for Coeliacs.


I don't think my niece's complaint was that the gluten-free foods were unavailable, but that they were expensive - more expensive than normal products. Thank God and Praise be to Ala for Lidl & Aldi, I'll check them out tomorrow, but should I expect the gluten-free products to be the same price as normal food products? My other googling seemed to suggest that gluten-free products were at times 500% dearer that the norm, and that an average shop could run to between 17% to over 50% more expensive than the norm. How can people on low incomes follow the diet if they can't afford to?

Clarifier

It's Friday evening and I'm tired. I think Splinter, for whom I have a lot of time, and for all his or her knowledge, does not quite seem to get the history of diet supplements and Supplementary Welfare Allowance. So to clarify:
There was assistance through the Medical Card system until a few years ago - products were given out for free.
You are right in that the only financial assistance available to Coeliacs in Ireland today - as of right - is to those who are working or to those who received the SWA Diet Supplement before 2014.
You are right, in my opinion and backed up by research, in assuming that gluten-free foods are more expensive than normal foods, although I will have a look at prices tomorrow in my local Lidl (perhaps you could check Aldi).
But most importantly, your niece may, depending on her circumstances, be entitled to a supplement for her diet through Supplementary Welfare Allowance if her means are insufficient to meet her needs. She should apply for a supplement to meet her exceptional need for food, as opposed to applying for a Diet Supplement under a scheme she will, almost invariably, be told no longer exists. However, do not expect E32.50 as that was never paid out.

still a dancing queen

I've been to Lidl this morning and found that the gluten-free products they stock are much more expensive than normal, ranging from 172% to 1012% as follows: 500g porridge oats €2.79 versus 1500Kg €1.29. 1kg white flour €1.79 vs 2kg €1.29. 400g white sliced bread €3.49 vs 800g €0.69. 500g cornflakes €2.49 vs 500g €0.99. 500g pasta €0.89 vs 600g €0.45. 170g digestive biscuits €0.99 vs 400g €0.44. 130g rice cakes €1.19 vs 130g €0.69. This selection of gluten-free items adds up to €13.63 whereas the normal products, price adjusted to equivalent weight, amounts to €3.66, that's €9.97 and 377% dearer.

Where can my niece apply for this diet supplement and how much might she get?

judeboy101

still a dancing queen wrote: »

I've been to Lidl this morning and found that the gluten-free products they stock are much more expensive than normal, ranging from 172% to 1012% as follows: 500g porridge oats €2.79 versus 1500Kg €1.29. 1kg white flour €1.79 vs 2kg €1.29. 400g white sliced bread €3.49 vs 800g €0.69. 500g cornflakes €2.49 vs 500g €0.99. 500g pasta €0.89 vs 600g €0.45. 170g digestive biscuits €0.99 vs 400g €0.44. 130g rice cakes €1.19 vs 130g €0.69. This selection of gluten-free items adds up to €13.63 whereas the normal products, price adjusted to equivalent weight, amounts to €3.66, that's €9.97 and 377% dearer.

Where can my niece apply for this diet supplement and how much might she get?

Everything you have listed there is luxury, from the rice to the biscuits. There are literally millions of products that have no gluten. Why get Hung up on bread and pasta.

wifey28

Your niece can go tothe cwo and try to get a small amount for the special dietry reqs, but alot of cwos do not give this out anymore, It was mainly needed when gluten free items were not available in supermarkets and needed to be gotten in chemists at much higher prices.
You can live gluten free rather cheaply if your willing to work at your shopping list, make breads etc at home, homemake sauces etc.

To give you an idea I applied for it jsut for a 3 month period when i was going thru chemo and radio for cancer and was denied cuz having to follow a special diet (protien shakes and meal supplements for when i couldnt keep anything in etc, which work out to be rather expensive when you cant keep anything in and need to maintain your weight) wasnt seen as causing me any extra hardship (my family of 4 was living on 450 euro a week at the time with rent of 950 a month!)

still a dancing queen

I am not aware of the millions of food products that are gluten-free, but I would very much appreciate if you could list them out for me. I checked out the items I listed in Lidl this morning in response to the advice that it has a gluten-free section, and to the suggestion that because all the supermarkets have these sections that it was deemed that the supplement was no longer necessary. But if it pleases you, I have conducted an exercise and removed the luxury plain digestive biscuits and the luxury rice cakes and the result is worse: The revised selection of gluten-free items adds up to €11.45 whereas the normal products amount to €2.785, that's 411% dearer.

still a dancing queen

wifey28 wrote: »

It was mainly needed when gluten free items were not available in supermarkets and needed to be gotten in chemists at much higher prices.

Thank you wifey28 for your reply. If the gluten-free items that are now available in supermarkets at much higher prices, and if the same items were available in the chemists free of charge to medical card holders, how does this mean that the supplement is no longer needed? Or maybe I misunderstood what happened. I thought I had discovered that the HSE withdrew the gluten-free items from the medical card at the same time as Social Welfare blocked new applications for the supplement.

splinter65

still a dancing queen wrote: »

I am not aware of the millions of food products that are gluten-free, but I would very much appreciate if you could list them out for me. I checked out the items I listed in Lidl this morning in response to the advice that it has a gluten-free section, and to the suggestion that because all the supermarkets have these sections that it was deemed that the supplement was no longer necessary. But if it pleases you, I have conducted an exercise and removed the luxury plain digestive biscuits and the luxury rice cakes and the result is worse: The revised selection of gluten-free items adds up to €11.45 whereas the normal products amount to €2.785, that's 411% dearer.

You appear to be more angry with anonymous posters taking the time to give you honest advice rather then the system which decided to withdraw the supplement but that’s a frequent theme on this forum so, whatmatter.
Your niece can , like anyone else, go to her local CWO and make a case for herself to get an SWA but it will be
1. Means tested
2. Very temporary if not just a one of payment for her to buy bulk items wherein she could prepare all her own food completely from scratch.
3. At the discretion of the CWO.
Gluten free is common place now and as I already suggested she needs to contact coeliac ireland really for any further advice as to how to best manage a condition that many people live quite normal lives with.
She is young and hopefully she will find a job very very soon where she will be able to support herself.

goat2

judeboy101 wrote: »

Everything you have listed there is luxury, from the rice to the biscuits. There are literally millions of products that have no gluten. Why get Hung up on bread and pasta.

could you please give us a list of these products that you say have no gluten

RentDayBlues

All non processed foods are naturally gluten free - it is very possible to live without bread, pasta, rice etc

I’ve been coeliac for over a decade and apart from gf pasta I pretty much just follow a non processed diet which is th same cost as non coeliacs.

A Coeliac diet is expensive when you insist on eating processed foods. My wife is a Coeliac and we spend almost no more on her food than on mine. Everything is cooked at home from the base ingredients.

Yes, you need to use a different flour and omit or substitute some ingredients. No, you can’t buy biscuits and cakes, ready meals (with some exceptions), jars of sauce and frozen pizzas, unless you want crappy versions in half empty packaging.

Potato and rice flour, water, salt, baking powder and soda and butter or margarine will allow you make a roux, batter, pastry or basic dough for flatbread etc.

We spend about €50 a week on groceries to feed ourselves 3 good meals a day. As tough as it may seem for your niece, the challenge with a strict Gf diet for coeliac disease is not solved by buying Gluten Free versions of the food she eats today. It’s about eati g healthy and understanding the basic ingredients she can work with.

Vegetables are all GF. Unmarinaded meats are all GF. Fruit is GF. If she makes her own food, she won’t feel it in her pocket once she learns to bake for herself.

You mentioned rice cakes above. They’re GF anyway. Learn what’s naturally GF (and check labels for warning about gluten anyway) and she’ll quickly realise it’s not worth paying for a big GF branding on products which are perfectly fine anyway.

Education and a bit of effort are needed. Not a subsidy.

judeboy101

goat2 wrote: »

could you please give us a list of these products that you say have no gluten

~300000 extant plant species and ~1500000 animal species. Less than 1% of animals are inedible and while only 1% of plants are edible there are on 15 varieties per species. Your niece chooses to rely on us the tax payer fir a handful of the million or do gluten containing species.

still a dancing queen

RentDayBlues wrote: »

All non processed foods are naturally gluten free - it is very possible to live without bread, pasta, rice etc

I’ve been coeliac for over a decade and apart from gf pasta I pretty much just follow a non processed diet which is th same cost as non coeliacs.

Food for thought! Could you hazard an estimate at the additional weekly cost of buying the GF pasta over normal pasta?

splinter65

still a dancing queen wrote: »

Food for thought! Could you hazard an estimate at the additional weekly cost of buying the GF pasta over normal pasta?

How did your niece get on with applying to the CWO for the Diet Supplement?

still a dancing queen

splinter65 wrote: »

How did your niece get on with applying to the CWO for the Diet Supplement?

She apparently was told that Diet Supplements were done away with in 2014. She followed your suggestion and asked if she could get help with one-off set up costs and has been told she can be considered for an exceptional needs payment if she brings back estimates. She queried help with the ongoing additional cost of GF basics like flour etc and was told that if she can quantify this it could be considered as well, but she got the distinct impression that this was not really a runner.

Staph

Adhering to a GF diet takes a bit time and education. I grew up with a coeliac and dinners were all made from scratch to limit processed foods and contamination. They consisted of veg, potatoes/rice and meat, nothing special but easy to prepare and no looking at labels to check if GF.
GF alternatives are available and they are expensive, but they are not essential. The only item we specially bought was GF flour to make bread and cakes for the coeliac. Otherwise we all ate the same stuff at home and it was not more expensive to follow than a standard diet. It's only expensive if you're buying processed crap like buns/bars etc. that are now widely available. Keeping it simple will not be much more expensive than an ordinary non-GF diet.

still a dancing queen

Staph wrote: »

Adhering to a GF diet takes a bit time and education. I grew up with a coeliac and dinners were all made from scratch to limit processed foods and contamination. They consisted of veg, potatoes/rice and meat, nothing special but easy to prepare and no looking at labels to check if GF.
GF alternatives are available and they are expensive, but they are not essential. The only item we specially bought was GF flour to make bread and cakes for the coeliac. Otherwise we all ate the same stuff at home and it was not more expensive to follow than a standard diet. It's only expensive if you're buying processed crap like buns/bars etc. that are now widely available. Keeping it simple will not be much more expensive than an ordinary non-GF diet.

I think she is going down the road of avoiding expensive processed GF products and baking for herself. Could you hazard an estimate at how much more expensive it is to do as you do?

Staph

I can't estimate the extra cost, it depends on how much she spends on GF items and general groceries. Some things she may insist are necessary to have and other coeliacs may see as wholly unnecessary. As I said, keeping it simple and really understanding food and what some products contain is the key to a GF diet. It will take time, but it will serve her better than buying processed GF foods.

still a dancing queen

I think she will follow your advice but even GF flour is twice the price. I suppose she can do an exercise herself to identify the extra expense of the basics while avoiding the processed stuff.

Staph

Yes GF flour is more expensive than wheat flour. But she can still eat everyday food items that are just GF naturally. Like cuts of meat, fish, eggs, fruit, vegetables, cans of tomatoes/coconut milk/pulses, spices/herbs. If she eats this stuff already, she won't have much of an increase on grocery expenditure -it's that simple.

still a dancing queen

JayZeus wrote: »

A Coeliac diet is expensive when you insist on eating processed foods. My wife is a Coeliac and we spend almost no more on her food than on mine. Everything is cooked at home from the base ingredients.

Yes, you need to use a different flour and omit or substitute some ingredients. No, you can’t buy biscuits and cakes, ready meals (with some exceptions), jars of sauce and frozen pizzas, unless you want crappy versions in half empty packaging.

Potato and rice flour, water, salt, baking powder and soda and butter or margarine will allow you make a roux, batter, pastry or basic dough for flatbread etc.

We spend about €50 a week on groceries to feed ourselves 3 good meals a day. As tough as it may seem for your niece, the challenge with a strict Gf diet for coeliac disease is not solved by buying Gluten Free versions of the food she eats today. It’s about eati g healthy and understanding the basic ingredients she can work with.

Vegetables are all GF. Unmarinaded meats are all GF. Fruit is GF. If she makes her own food, she won’t feel it in her pocket once she learns to bake for herself.

You mentioned rice cakes above. They’re GF anyway. Learn what’s naturally GF (and check labels for warning about gluten anyway) and she’ll quickly realise it’s not worth paying for a big GF branding on products which are perfectly fine anyway.

Education and a bit of effort are needed. Not a subsidy.

My niece is taking on board all the advice you have offered. You acknowledge that there is a small additional expense incurred but that a subsidy is not needed. Yet it appears that subsidies were and still are available to you which you may not be availing of. I respect that, but perhaps you might agree that if a subsidy is available then she should be able to get it if she chooses to pursue it, especially as she is surviving on a little more than 100 euros per week, no matter how small the amount may be?

still a dancing queen

Staph wrote: »

Yes GF flour is more expensive than wheat flour. But she can still eat everyday food items that are just GF naturally. Like cuts of meat, fish, eggs, fruit, vegetables, cans of tomatoes/coconut milk/pulses, spices/herbs. If she eats this stuff already, she won't have much of an increase on grocery expenditure -it's that simple.

She has been asked to conduct an exercise to identify how much more expensive the GF flour is over wheat flour as she may be eligible for assistance with the difference.

Clarifier

If memory serves me correctly, the amount of Diet Supplement paid to someone on JA or DA with Coeliac disease is €6.50pw if they qualified before 2014 based on the 2007 research and income levels. The report of the Irish Nutrition & Dietetics Institute commissioned by the Department of Social Welfare found that the difference between the GF diet and a normal healthy eating diet had in fact increased by €3pw by 2013, due mainly to the removal of GF flour from the medical card, and so on that basis your niece could look for €9.50pw. They also found that the difference in the two diets in the likes of ALDI and LIDL was more like €12pw. So those are the ball park figures to guide her but she should do a proper exercise herself to assist with her case.

still a dancing queen

Thanks for those figures. I've no doubt they will be helpful, although to be honest we have found it quite difficult to grasp what appears to be a very arbitrary nature of entitlement. Given all that has been said about diet supplements being done away with, and bearing in mind the unfortunate experience of wifey28, my niece is happier to put a case follow up on her request for a once-off payment in the short term as she is hopeful of getting work sooner rather than later.

I imagine you will agree that it is ironic that when she takes up employment and if she chooses to spend say 50 euros per week on processed gluten-free foods she will be eligible for income tax rebates of 10 euros. In fact, the better paid she will be the more she could afford to spend if she chose to do so, the bigger will be the subsidy! There again, some might argue that as a tax payer she would deserve it.

MiaMaria

A nice and simple recipe that can be made is Porridge Bread. Oats are Gluten Free but depending on the mill it comes from they might be packaged in the same factory as say flour is being milled so cannot be labeled Gluten Free. To be extra careful you can get Gluten Free oats.
http://glenisk.com/recipes/porridge-bread

ED E

still a dancing queen wrote: »

She has been asked to conduct an exercise to identify how much more expensive the GF flour is over wheat flour as she may be eligible for assistance with the difference.

Find somebody with a musgraves card, buy in bulk.
https://order.musgravemarketplace.ie/link/en/retail-grocery/health-foods/doves-farm-gluten-free-plain-flour/180978/p/


How much more expensive for her it is really isn't that important though, she can eat other foods with no problem. The expense comes from her trying to maintain a dietary "style" which isn't compatible with her body.

still a dancing queen

I don't know anybody with a Musgraves card but if it were worthwhile I could pursue that avenue. I followed the link you provided and saw they sell a 16kg pack of Doves Farm gluten-free plain white flour but no price is provided. I went to the website of Doves Farm and they sell 25kgs for £37.50 and £10 delivery to Ireland - that works out at €2.13 per kilo, as opposed to Lidl at €1.79. Perhaps if someone could find out the price Musgraves sell it at we could assess the relative cost, but then again there are only 10 Musgraves in Ireland and the cost of getting to one could cancel out the potential saving.


Earlier posts have directed her towards gluten free flour to bake bread, pasta and porridge. Is this the style you are referring to? A 1kg pack of gf flour and 500g of gf pasta and gf porridge alone work out at €4 more than the normal products.

airy fairy

I think your niece seems to lack experience in the GF area, and both you and her need to sit back and take a chill. Seriously, comparing bulk buying of flour? Gf bread is yack, there'll belittle need to bulk buy flour, on a positive, it'll be healthier, she can eat less bread!
There are thousands of items that are GF but not in special packaging. For example, cornflour, used to make a roux, you don't have to buy the gf make, the cheapest non branded will do.
Start reading labels, of regular foods. Bird's eye potato waffles are gf, not a special pack, just regular ones.
Be sensible. No need to buy special labeled rice for example.
Read labels.
Buy in bulk when things are on special.
Tesco, Lidl, Aldi do own brands.
Non processed foods, cooking from scratch with fresh ingredients, it's all good and what she should be eating anyway.
It's not the end of the world, initially one tends to panic upon diagnosis, but she'll settle down into a routine and gf won't cost much more, if at all, than regular gluten foods.

Skuxx

I don't wish to sound harsh OP, but you seem to be so bogged down in the price of one vs the price of another and how it's so expensive to live gf. You have been given lots of advice here, why not tell your niece to go, shop, eat and live for a few weeks to see how she gets on. She might find she only uses 1 bag of flour a month and the €2 extra that it costs per bag really is minimal over a weekly basis.
We all have things in our lives which unfortunately costs us a little more then we'd like but you just have to get on with it!!

Again, please don't think I'm attacking you!! I just think you're completely over analysing the situation regarding pricing and x being so much % dearer then y!!

Clarifier

If your niece chooses to avoid all processed GF products apart from flour, and were that flour to cost only €2 per month, then clearly it would hardly be worth the bother of seeking financial help with that, and it would be very unlikely that such a request would be taken seriously. If on the other hand she chose to also consume GF pasta and porridge, and if these were all to cost €4pw, then if bothered she could quite legitimately pursue an application. The least expensive of the 4 Diets Supplements paid by the Department is €3.50pw. Other small subsidies provided by the Department are the TV licence €3.08pw, BTSC&F €2.40pw and the recently announced Telephone Support Allowance of €2.50pw.

If however she chose to follow the diet recommended by the INDI, in conjunction with the Coeliac Society, she could apply for a supplement of €11.90pw. This diet includes the following processed GF foods: high fibre flakes, muesli, low fat yoghurt, wholemeal crackers, baked beans, pasta, mayonnaise, gravy, tartare sauce, vanilla ice cream, digestives, crackers, low fat spread, chocolate chip cookies and 16 slices of wholemeal bread. If she chose to follow this diet except for the bread, she could deduct the cost of the processed pan of bread and add in the cost of baking one.

By the way, anyone currently in receipt of a GF Diet Supplement in the amount of €6.50 for single people or €17.00 for a couple on the reduced rate, would be advised to pursue this also. The original intention of the Department when it closed the scheme to new entrants in 2014 was that the existing supplements would be eroded over time by the amount of any budget increases. Given that there have been two €5pw increases for single people since then the supplements should be finished, except for the emergency measures taken last year and repeated this year to save them, but there is no way of knowing if these measures will be repeated in the future.

still a dancing queen

I received my Tesco Clubcard statement yesterday and a whole page of the enclosed booklet is devoted to explaining how Coeliac customers can get a certificate of expenditure on gluten-free foods for the year to submit to the Revenue Commissioners to claim tax relief. By this stage I sense there is little sympathy for my niece's situation and even she seems less exercised by the injustice and inequity of her situation than I am. She tells me that she received a very welcome once-off payment from the Community Welfare Officer but has been told that on-going assistance is not available since Diet Supplements were discontinued for new applicants.


You have stated that a supplement for food is available and have mentioned various amounts of €6.50, €9.50, €12 and €11.90. I have checked the websites of Citizen's Information and Social Welfare and can find no suggestion that such help is still available. There is a very detailed page explaining how much Diet Supplement is payable and I have seen that single people on the full rate of Social Welfare Payment would receive the cost of the Gluten-Free diet of €68.43 less one third of their income being €61.93 delivering €6.50pw, that couples would receive €68.43 less one sixth of their income being €51.52 delivering €16.91pw, and I deduced that a person on €107.70pw would have been entitled to the difference between the cost of the diet of €68.43 and one third of their income being €35.90 delivering €32.53. I don't understand why this is not the case except that a line appears to have been inserted to say that no new applications are to be accepted, but I can see no attempt to explain why! Can you explain why and where you get the alternative figures you put forward? You then suggest that the existing diet supplements should have been finished except that emergency measures were taken! My niece and others in her circumstances seem to have been arbitrarily discriminated against but I'm not sure that she is any longer inclined to pursue this matter any further, but I must say that I am both irritated and curious to establish if there is anything more that can be done? I do sincerely appreciate your contribution so far but could really do with some more decisive info before I decide whether or not to throw in the towel.

airy fairy

still a dancing queen wrote: »

I received my Tesco Clubcard statement yesterday and a whole page of the enclosed booklet is devoted to explaining how Coeliac customers can get a certificate of expenditure on gluten-free foods for the year to submit to the Revenue Commissioners to claim tax relief. By this stage I sense there is little sympathy for my niece's situation and even she seems less exercised by the injustice and inequity of her situation than I am. She tells me that she received a very welcome once-off payment from the Community Welfare Officer but has been told that on-going assistance is not available since Diet Supplements were discontinued for new applicants.


You have stated that a supplement for food is available and have mentioned various amounts of €6.50, €9.50, €12 and €11.90. I have checked the websites of Citizen's Information and Social Welfare and can find no suggestion that such help is still available. There is a very detailed page explaining how much Diet Supplement is payable and I have seen that single people on the full rate of Social Welfare Payment would receive the cost of the Gluten-Free diet of €68.43 less one third of their income being €61.93 delivering €6.50pw, that couples would receive €68.43 less one sixth of their income being €51.52 delivering €16.91pw, and I deduced that a person on €107.70pw would have been entitled to the difference between the cost of the diet of €68.43 and one third of their income being €35.90 delivering €32.53. I don't understand why this is not the case except that a line appears to have been inserted to say that no new applications are to be accepted, but I can see no attempt to explain why! Can you explain why and where you get the alternative figures you put forward? You then suggest that the existing diet supplements should have been finished except that emergency measures were taken! My niece and others in her circumstances seem to have been arbitrarily discriminated against but I'm not sure that she is any longer inclined to pursue this matter any further, but I must say that I am both irritated and curious to establish if there is anything more that can be done? I do sincerely appreciate your contribution so far but could really do with some more decisive info before I decide whether or not to throw in the towel.

I'm not sure what you're looking for for your niece tbh. I went to Aldi today, their gf products are almost on par with regular products pricing.
Discriminated against? Seriously?
Try being coeliac and type 1 diabetic.
I have to pay a sugar tax on sugary drinks, sweets etc, to KEEP HER ALIVE. I get no assistance with buying any of these product, but it's necessary to have a copious amounts at home, car, several areas around school etc, so quite costly.
Up until recently I paid €60 every two weeks for a sensor attached to her arm to read her blood sugar's because her fingers were raw from drawing blood from them....the government saw the sensor as being a luxury. When she hits 18 years old, we're back to paying €60 every 2 weeks because adults are still not covered to get it in their long term illness card.
Sorry to say, but I'm sure if your niece sat down and budgeted for her food, I'm sure she'll live just fine on her social.... we're talking a few euro here, not 100's per week.

still a dancing queen

My point about discrimination was to do with the fact that people on multiples of the income of my niece are receiving state assistance whereas she is being denied. This in no way is intended to detract from their needs or those of you or your daughter, and you both have my sympathy and no doubt that of my niece in what on one level seems should be a common cause against Social Welfare and the HSE, though your complaint does indeed seem to be more acute.

airy fairy

Perhaps your niece could get off job seekers by seeking employment and then she could earn multiplies of JSA, rather than look for state assistance for gluten free products, which you seem to think is an entitlement. It's really a first world problem she has tbh.

still a dancing queen

Firstly, is it not condition of getting Jobseekers Allowance that one seeks employment? Secondly, it is the State, not I, who have determined that assistance for gluten-free products is an entitlement of people with Coeliac disease in work, and it would appear of people who had a diet supplement before 2014 and now retain it as a consequence of emergency measures. If your daughter gets work she will be entitled too. If she doesn't, perhaps one day she might appreciate if she could receive similar assistance if out of work.

splinter65

The State ceased paying a supplement to new claimants on a special diet when it became clear that there was so much information out there about how to live, for example, gluten free that it was completely unnecessary to put the taxpayer to the continued expense of supporting a need that no longer existed.
In SW “allowances” are there to “meet a need”.
When the need ceases to exist then so does the Allowance.

Whiplashy

I’m not sure what you think you are going to achieve here. The assistance scheme was closed to new applicants. That’s it. End of story. Your niece got her once off payment from CWO. Once she gains employment she will be entitled to the tax relief. There is absolutely no reason why her diet should be anymore expensive because of her diagnosis. She’ll probably end up saving money if she has previously been buying a lot of processed food.

airy fairy

splinter65 wrote: »

The State ceased paying a supplement to new claimants on a special diet when it became clear that there was so much information out there about how to live, for example, gluten free that it was completely unnecessary to put the taxpayer to the continued expense of supporting a need that no longer existed.
In SW “allowances” are there to “meet a need”.
When the need ceases to exist then so does the Allowance.

Exactly.
We've been living with gluten free since my daughter was very small.
Prior to 2014 we didn't even know such an allowance for gf existed.
It WAS expensive years ago to live gf. It was expensive and miserable.
Choice was pathetic.
Most limited food available like cornflakes, flour, bread, was only available through ordering from the chemist. €5/6 back in 2010 or whenever for 6 slices of bread.
We did without other things to pay for my child's food. It didn't even dawn on us to seek assistance re tax or otherwise.
Today's climate where people are looking for assistance for everything, when there's no need to, it's mind-blowing. To even go to a CWO for a handout because of a diet diagnosis is jaw dropping.
Sense of entitlement stinks, because you've been given plenty of tips and advice on living with a gf diet here and you're still reverting back to old allowances and what people got and can't seem to let go.

still a dancing queen

"Please, sir, I want some more"
"More? More!
Oliver, Oliver, never before has a boy wanted more,
Oliver, Oliver, he won't ask for more when he knows what in store,
We will throw him down the stairway without any bannister,
Where we'll feed him on cockroaches served in a canister."


I'm guessing your a Mr. Bumble kind of guy.

splinter65

still a dancing queen wrote: »

"Please, sir, I want some more"
"More? More!
Oliver, Oliver, never before has a boy wanted more,
Oliver, Oliver, he won't ask for more when he knows what in store,
We will throw him down the stairway without any bannister,
Where we'll feed him on cockroaches served in a canister."


I'm guessing your a Mr. Bumble kind of guy.

Do you honestly feel that your niece has a need that must be met from resources outside of herself?

Clarifier

still a dancing queen wrote: »

She tells me that she received a very welcome once-off payment from the Community Welfare Officer but has been told that on-going assistance is not available since Diet Supplements were discontinued for new applicants...... but I must say that I am both irritated and curious to establish if there is anything more that can be done?

I will try to answer your queries but there are so many issues being raised that it is difficult to know where to start. So in this post I will deal with the above. Apart from applying for an ENP, did your niece make a formal application for a supplement to assist with exceptional food expenditure? If she did and she has been refused, she should have been given a formal written decision outlining the reason for the refusal and advising her of her right of appeal. If she hasn't then she can do so if she is so inclined but she needs to be specific about what amount she is seeking and for what. The situation is that on-going assistance is not available under the "Diet Supplement" regulations except to people who were in receipt of a "Diet Supplement" from any date since 1996 when the regulations were enacted up to 2014. But people applied for and were paid supplements for diet since Supplementary Welfare Allowance was enacted in 1975, and possibly even before then, but they were dealt with on a discretionary basis that was ultimately found to be unsatisfactory. I'll leave it at that for this post until I can work out how best to answer the rest of your queries.

Clarifier

still a dancing queen wrote: »

I have checked the websites of Citizen's Information and Social Welfare and can find no suggestion that such help is still available. There is a very detailed page explaining how much Diet Supplement is payable and I have seen that single people on the full rate of Social Welfare Payment would receive the cost of the Gluten-Free diet of €68.43 less one third of their income being €61.93 delivering €6.50pw, that couples would receive €68.43 less one sixth of their income being €51.52 delivering €16.91pw, and I deduced that a person on €107.70pw would have been entitled to the difference between the cost of the diet of €68.43 and one third of their income being €35.90 delivering €32.53. I don't understand why this is not the case except that a line appears to have been inserted to say that no new applications are to be accepted, but I can see no attempt to explain why! Can you explain why....?

I will direct you later to find on the Department's website the information about the legislative power to award such help. There is a slight flaw in your figures in that you deduce that a supplement of €32.53 would have been delivered. All the figures above refer to 2007, and in 2007 there was no under 25 year old rate. Had the Department decided to amend the regulations to provide a supplement to under 25 year olds, after they introduced that rate, based on the "one third" formula then the applicable rate at that time was €100pw which would have delivered a supplement of €35.10. But that would have been nonsensical as everyone on the €100pw rate could have argued that they should have been entitled to similar treatment to be able to purchase the Healthy Eating Diet which was priced at €62 and so they would be entitled to €28.70. This exposed for once and for all the inappropriateness of using this fractional approach. (The Department seems to be drawn to this "1/3rd" fraction as can be seen from the rate paid for an adult dependant which is 2/3rds of the adult rate and that paid for a child which is 1/3rd). So logically the best that could have been hoped for with this approach was that the €6.50 rate would have been payable. So hopefully that explains why your niece should not pursue either of the amounts of €32.53 or €35.10 and why such an application would most likely be refused by the CWO and rejected by an Appeals Officer, but would serve as a useful argument to request €6.50. Bear in mind that under the regulations recipients were not required to demonstrate that they were following the diet recommended by the INDI, just that they were Coeliac. If this amount were to be awarded as a discretionary supplement under Article 38 of the Consolidated SWA Regulations, the CWO would be entitled to request verification that she was in fact incurring that additional exceptional expense. But if she hasn't applied or appealed yet I will give the best advice I can offer with regard to the most reasonable request she could make in my next post.

Clarifier

still a dancing queen wrote: »

She tells me that she ...has been told that on-going assistance is not available since Diet Supplements were discontinued for new applicants.... I don't understand why this is not the case except that a line appears to have been inserted to say that no new applications are to be accepted, but I can see no attempt to explain why! Can you explain why …?

Go to www.welfare.ie, search INDI and you will be brought to 10 results. The first is the September 2013 Diet Supplement report of the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute. The fourth is the notification regarding Diet supplements dated 31/1/2014 which announced that on the basis of the INDI report no new supplements under the scheme would be accepted after 1/2/14. The reason offered was as follows "The research showed that the average costs across all of the retail outlets of the diets supplemented under the scheme can be met from within one third of the current rate of social welfare payments". It finishes by stating that "Staff in the Department's Community Welfare Service continue to have discretionary power to award a supplement under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme in cases of exceptional need". So the Diet Supplement scheme was closed to new applicants but supplements for diet could be awarded under the SWA scheme.


The average (unweighted) cost of the Gluten-Free diet across all stores as determined by the INDI was €59.51. The basic SWA rate for a single person over 26 was €186, so one third of this was €62. The Department seems to have forgotten that two categories of social welfare payments were less than €186. The first includes your niece where the payment was €100 and the second was cohabiting couples (married and unmarried) who were paid €310.80. Had the Department remembered these recipients it would have had to amend the "Diet Supplement scheme" to deliver a supplement of €26.18 (€59.51 less €33.33) to the under 25 year olds and €7.71 (€59.51 less 51.80) to the one of the couple prescribed the diet. But by default the provision of supplements for exceptional dietary needs has now reverted to the discretionary regime that pertained before the regulated regime was put in place.


I realise that by now you have copped that I have introduced a new figure of €26.18 as the legitimate and correct amount your niece could pursue on the basis of the Department's declared position. This position is so flawed that I would suggest that the proper supplement to your niece, subject to the condition that she actually incurs the expense, would be either €10.59 being the difference between the average cost of the GF diet of €59.51 and the average cost of the Healthy Eating diet of €48.92, or probably more properly €11.82 based on the costs of the two diets in large stores.