Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 3 October 2019
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach
Application of VAT to Food Supplements: Discussion
Dr. Dilis Clare:
Coeliac foods will not be affected. Gluten-free food products will remain as a food. I do not think there will be any controversy about that.
Gill Brennan
Posted on 9 Oct 2019 5:54 pm (Report this comment)
Dr. Clare did not answer the question posed. Gluten Free food which is the only treatment for Coeliac Disease is not a supplement. However many Coeliacs require supplements to make up for the nutrition deficits that can occur when gluten is taken out of their diets. In particular Coeliac sufferers would use probiotics and prebiotics to ensure good gut health as well as calcium to ensure strong bone health as many coeliacs also suffer from osteoporosis in later life.
Therefore I believe Dr. Clare did not represent Coeliac patients correctly with the PAC and in fact may have let the 50,000+ citizens with Coeliac disease down in not correctly answering the question.
Regards
Gill Brennan, CEO Coeliac Society of Ireland