Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentation and note their recommendations. I do not want to go through each of the points but there are three specific areas I would like to raise. My understanding of coeliac condition would be mainly from my involvement as a volunteer with the Girl Guides in organising events. Dietary requirements come up and we have many discussions on the issue. The majority of leaders would say it is difficult when we have events, mainly in hotels or other types of facilities, and the issue was touched on by Professor Kennedy. There is a lifestyle change whereby some people are opting for a gluten-free diet, which leads some establishments to believe a little bit will not do any harm. The people running the hotels think they are looking to change their lifestyle and that gluten will not really affect them. I have seen the direct effects it has on individuals.

For many restaurants, if they changed their stocks and sauces, the menu would open up. That shows the lack of awareness about coeliac disease. It is not just a fad, and maybe that is an awareness we could get across. Some hotels are excellent but some may indicate that a little gluten will do no harm. There is an issue there. When I heard about an increase in gluten-free diets as a lifestyle choice, the optimist in me was saying that is great, it means there will be a wider selection of products and prices will hopefully come down. The witnesses have explained the downside of it to me.

On the screening process, what age of detection is more usual? Most people I know were diagnosed in young adulthood rather than as children. The screening process and early detection have been mentioned but unless there is a direct family member it does not seem to come up as a possibility. I noted from the presentation that previously it was thought children would grow out of it. I hear parents being told by dieticians that their daughter or son will grow out of it if the parents introduce little bits of gluten to them. That attitude may still be prevailing. I see heads shaking but this is not only me thinking this, it still prevails today.

I was surprised to hear about the cross-contamination issue in the health care institutions. They are not being mindful of the dietary needs of the individual residents and patients. I know food in our health care institutions is an issue our Chairman, Deputy Conway has raised on several occasions, but perhaps this committee could look more widely at the dietary needs of individuals in different recovery stages or life stages. I have direct experience of the quality of the diet as my father is in a nursing home and, for example, the cross-contamination issue of the toaster seems obvious although it is not. I would have thought those working in health care institutions would be trained and retrained on a regular basis and that the issue would be stressed. Perhaps the committee could consider those wider issues also.