On National Celiac Disease Awareness Day, the Office of the Ombudsman wishes to show its commitment to defending the interests of people affected by celiac disease and has announced that it is preparing which will include recommendations for enhancing the quality of life of this group of people.
In the opinion of the institution, the gluten intolerance that people with celiac disease suffer from is a chronic disease that ought to be protected by the authorities.
The Office of the Ombudsman is endeavouring to get the government authorities to recognise the special circumstances of celiac disease sufferers and to make the price of gluten-free products acceptable, either through tax rebates or state aid.
So it has asked all the autonomous communities and Ceuta and Melilla for information on whether they are studying the possibility of establishing financial support measures for celiac-disease sufferers similar to the ones in place in other countries.
The Office has also asked for details of the number of people affected by this disease in each regional community, their needs, problems and demands and whether the regional government authorities have considered taking other measures such as informative and collaboration campaigns with organisations and associations of celiac disease sufferers.
The Office of the Ombudsman has also approached the Secretariat of State for the Treasury and autonomous-regional government ministries to find out whether they are planning to bring in some kind of Personal Income Tax tax incentive for celiac disease sufferers who have financial difficulties.
The Institution is also holding meetings with associations of sufferers to obtain their opinion and is drawing up a survey, which will be published on its web page soon, to enable celiac disease sufferers to make their requests directly to the Office of the Ombudsman.
