Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

The report referred to by the Deputy is on a study of the cost of healthy eating and specialised diets undertaken on behalf of the Department by the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute, the findings of which were published on 23 January 2006.

The report is the most comprehensive review of specialised diets and food costs carried out in Ireland in the past decade. It has brought an up-to-date focus on the varying costs of healthy foods and contains modernisation proposals based on the latest medical views on special diets. The report also examined the special diets prescribed in legislation for which assistance is available through the existing diet supplement scheme and considered the appropriate level of assistance required to cater for additional costs incurred in providing for necessary special diets, relative to the cost of a normal healthy-eating diet.

In welcoming the report, I undertook to introduce a revised system of diet supplement payments and I still intend to do so. However before doing that, I considered it essential to have officials of my Department undertake a comprehensive examination of the findings of the report to determine how a revised diet supplement scheme should be developed, taking on board the recommendations contained in the report. That examination is now complete and I expect to introduce new arrangements in April.

People receiving a social welfare or Health Service Executive payment, who have been prescribed a special diet as a result of a specified medical condition and who are unable to provide for their food needs from within their own resources, may qualify for a diet supplement under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme.

Diet supplements are subject to a means test. The amount of supplement payable in individual cases depends on which of two categories of diet, low cost or high cost, has been prescribed by the applicant's medical adviser and the income of the individual and his or her dependants.

The basis for calculating the amount of diet supplement remained unchanged between 1996 and 2004. Increases in social welfare rates and the cost of special diets since 1996 were not taken into account in assessing entitlement in individual cases. However, because increases in the social welfare payment rates were higher than food price inflation since 1996, the shortfall to be met by the diet supplement is less than what it was in the past.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

With effect from 1 January 2004 the diet supplement scheme was restructured to take account of increases in social welfare payment rates and the rate of food inflation since 1996. People in receipt of a diet supplement prior to the introduction of the revised regulations continued to receive their existing rate of supplement and the rate will not change until such time as there is a change in their circumstances that would warrant a review of their cases.

In the case of new applicants for diet supplement, the amount payable is based on increased up-to-date diet costs of €44 for low cost diets or €57 for high cost diets, less one third of the applicant's income or one sixth of the joint income in the case of a couple.

The test of affordability under the existing scheme is whether the cost of a special diet is more than one third of a person's income. When it is, a diet supplement is paid to make up the difference. I intend to maintain that approach in the new scheme.

One of the findings of the study undertaken by the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute was that people on the lowest social welfare payment could meet the full cost of the most expensive prescribed diet for less than one third of their income if they shopped in one of the large low-cost stores. However I recognise that not everybody, because of age or location, or for some other reason, is in a position to do their shopping at the cheapest stores. It is my intention that the revised scheme will provide a level of supplement coverage and payment rates to enable people on low incomes to meet the identified extra cost of medically-recommended special diets based on food costs at convenience stores, where prices are invariably higher.

The study also recommended a new framework for categorising the various diets in which all of the prescribed diets would fall and I intend to reflect this in the new scheme. Consequently, the scheme will be simpler. I am also mindful of the importance of ensuring that people on low incomes generally can afford a healthy-eating diet even where they have not been prescribed a specialised diet. The record increases in weekly social welfare payment rates which I introduced in January of this year help towards achieving that objective.

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