The Center Party faction of the Riigikogu presented 19 amendments to the draft law on family benefits, the aim of which is to value all children and ensure families’ security during several simultaneous crises.
Chairman of the faction and member of the social committee Tanel Kiige according to him, the government’s plan to cut family allowances against the background of the lowest birth rate of the century is completely unacceptable. “The state must not be rude to children and families by raising subsidies before the elections and cutting them immediately after the elections. Currently, families with children are under attack, tomorrow pensioners, disabled people or another vulnerable target group may become victims of cuts.”
“In difficult times, we need a reliable and well-thought-out population policy, which is why the government should abandon the short-sighted plan to cut family allowances,” emphasized the vice-chairman of the Center Party. “According to the constitution, families with children and people with disabilities are under the special care of the state and local governments. A sudden reduction in family allowances would be totally against this principle. In fact, in the conditions of rapid price increases, all monthly family allowances should be indexed in order to ensure a stable growth of child allowances in the future.”
Member of the Social Committee of the Riigikogu Andre Hanimägi pointed out that the cut of family allowances is justified both by saving money and by making the allowances fairer, but the latter is not added to the bill. “It would be fair and proper if the child allowance were equal, i.e. at least 100 euros for each child. This has been society’s expectation from the legislator from the beginning, and the stakeholders involved in the discussions today have repeatedly pointed out the reasonableness of this change,” stressed Hanimägi.
Therefore, the faction of the Center Party proposed to increase the child allowance to 100-150 euros, depending on the possibilities of the state budget. “We hope that the coalition understands the necessity of harmonizing child benefits and understands that every child is equally important,” he said.
