CHRISTODOULIDIS - PRESIDENTIAL AIRCRAFT WILL TRANSPORT PATIENTS FOR IMMEDIATE TRANSPLANTATION - SUPPORT FRAMEWORK FOR THE DISABLED - Filenews 5/3
The President of the Republic, Mr. Nikos Christodoulides, referred today to the decision of the Council of Ministers for an emblematic social reform that strengthens the Welfare State and holistically upgrades the support framework for people with disabilities. The President also announced the availability of National Guard aircraft for the air transport of patients in need of immediate transplantation, as well as for the transport of transplants where this is required. The aircraft also includes the presidential aircraft.
Addressing the members of the Council of Ministers, at the beginning of the meeting of the House, today, at the Presidential Palace, the President of the Republic said that "today we are taking a very important decision, since for the first time since the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus, a single and comprehensive legislative framework for the social participation and independent living of Persons with Disabilities is established.
Today's decision is an emblematic social reform that substantially strengthens the Welfare State in our country and holistically upgrades the support framework for people with disabilities.
A key pillar, a key component of our decision today is independent living, with the decoupling of benefits from income criteria for people with severe disabilities, substantially strengthening, among other things, their dignity and autonomy.
Our political will is also reflected fiscally. €106 million has been earmarked for the three-year period 2026 to 2028. And it is this responsible management of finances that allows us to invest in the welfare state as well as in other sectors.
Fully aware of the fact that the Parliament will complete its work soon in view of the Parliamentary Elections, we hope by investing in the social sensitivity of the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Labour and Welfare, Mr. Kafkalias, that the consultations will proceed immediately and we will succeed in passing the relevant bill.
At the same time, and it is related to our decision today, I had in the past few days the first meeting with the Social Citizens' Alliance, which was recently established and in which KYSOA, OSAK and the Observatory of the Third Age participate. I want the cooperation of all of us with the Social Citizens' Alliance to be substantial and systematic. For my part, we have agreed that we will hold regular meetings within a specific timeframe, through an institutionalized cooperation mechanism.
I call on you all, because it concerns all Ministries horizontally, to do the same. They are our Partners and Companions in the effort we make within the framework of our ideological-political approach, Social Liberalism.
At the same time, in order to be even more effective, we also adopt the recommendation of KYSOA, I invite you to appoint Accessibility Officers in your Ministry/Deputy Ministry, who will be, among other things, the Contact Points at any time with the Social Alliance, on issues concerning your Ministry/Deputy Ministry.
In the same context, but also as a sign of our political will for a strong Welfare State, we also decide to make available the aircraft of the National Guard for the air transport of patients in need of immediate transplantation, as well as for the transport of transplants where and where this is required. And the aircraft of the National Guard include the presidential aircraft, which has been out of service for the last year, but as soon as it is put into operation it is available for such purposes."
