Gluten-free aid cut for coeliacs

Up to 16,000 medical card holders who have coeliac disease will no longer be able to use their cards to buy gluten-free products — a change in policy that could add up to €80 a month to a person’s grocery bill.

This is the latest attempt by the HSE to help reduce its spiralling €250m budget deficit. Health chiefs say removing gluten-free food from the medical card prescription list will lead to savings of up to €3.6m a year.

The Coeliac Society of Ireland says the move will place great financial pressure on people already struggling to make ends meet.