Recipients of social welfare or health board payments who have been prescribed a special diet as a result of a specified medical condition, and whose means are insufficient to meet their needs, may qualify for a diet supplement under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme.
The amount of supplement payable depends on which of two categories of diet, that is, a lower cost diet costing €44 per week or higher cost diet costing €57 per week, has been prescribed by the applicant's medical adviser, as well as on the income of the individual and his-her dependents. In the case of a single person with no dependants, a supplement is payable if the cost of the prescribed diet is more than one third of the applicant's income.
The Southern Health Board was contacted regarding this case and has advised that the application by the person concerned for a diet supplement was refused on the grounds that his income is sufficient to meet his dietary needs, as the cost of the diet that he has been prescribed is less than one third of his income.
The board has further advised that the person concerned was unsuccessful in his appeal against this decision. The basis for the diet allowance and related matters will be reviewed when a report commissioned from Dr. Muireann Cullen of the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute, is finalised at the end of November.