Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am unhappy with the Minister of State's reply. I reject it absolutely. I know he was only reading from a script that he was given, but he said "the arrangements exclude costs incurred in respect of gluten-free alcohol." I do not know who wrote that, but if he or she believes that people who suffer from coeliac disease are guzzling alcohol and looking for a subsidy for that, then nothing could be further from the truth. People are concerned about the health impacts on them and their families for their whole lives: osteoporosis; amnesia; vitamin B deficiency; and various cancers. That script had a callous writer – the Minister of State did not write it – and what was in it was unacceptable. I reject its first paragraph, according to which this "is a matter in the first instance for the Minister for Health." As I told the Minister of State, the chairman of the Revenue Commissioners has made it clear that he accepts his responsibility. He went further, writing that the Minister for Finance had stated that he would ask his officials to discuss this matter with Revenue. He also wrote that Revenue was engaging with the Coeliac Society of Ireland.

The Minister of State has been given a bum steer. It is not good enough that someone would send him into the Dáil with that rubbish. I want to know what is happening and what progress is being made on Revenue's commitments. The script's writer would be hauled over the coals if he or she was in my office.

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