THE DEBATE ON THE BILL HAS BEGUN - IT FREES DISABILITY BENEFITS FROM THE GMI - THE NEW FRAMEWORK MAKES VISIBLE CATEGORIES OF CITIZENS WITH 'INVISIBLE' DISABILITIES - Filenews 10/3
The Parliamentary Committee on Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance made a start in the debate on a bill that frees disability benefits from the Guaranteed Minimum Income and treats people with disabilities without discrimination on Tuesday, with the debate continuing next week, when MPs will also expect answers and positions from the executive power, as stated after the session by the Chairman of the Parliamentary Labor Committee, AKEL MP, Andreas Kafkalias.
In his statements, Mr. Kafkalias stated that the proposed bill is the result of a significant effort to modernize social benefits and services for the independent living of people with disabilities and this is recognized.
He added that "it is a given that taking into account the fact that the bill has been submitted to the Parliament very late less than a month before the last plenary session of the current composition of the Parliament for legislative work, but also the discussion that has taken place today with the many observations, questions and disagreements, it becomes objectively difficult to try to complete the debate and bring the bill to the plenary for a vote before April 2".
However, as Mr. Kafkalias mentioned, the effort will be made and we continue the examination of the bill next week, waiting for the answers from the executive power and its reactions in relation to a series of suggestions that have been submitted for the improvement of the bills and therefore everything will be judged next week.
He noted that "we have no right as a Labour Committee and as a Parliament not to do the work we have to do, that is, to examine the bill in depth so that we can give the plenary session of the House the opportunity to take a position", before the end of its work in view of the elections.
The Member of Parliament of the Democratic Party (DIKO), Andreas Apostolou, stated that "we are glad because we have before us a bill that we have been asking for for many years and which finally separates disability benefits from the Guaranteed Minimum Income and gives the prospect to thousands of our compatriots with mobility disabilities who today received zero financial support to join the disability benefits".
He added that "our position is that as a Parliamentary Labour Committee, we will move immediately so that before the end of the current composition of the Parliament, the bill will be passed, including hundreds of our compatriots in disability benefits."
Mr. Apostolou said that the passage of the bill "must be accompanied by a clear political commitment by the government that in the supplementary budget for 2026 and in the budgets of the coming years there will be more increase in funds for people with disabilities so that the relevant benefits can also be increased".
He said that any delay in the passage of the bill "will result in the resumption of the debate in September 2026 without any horizon for its passage in the coming months".
Mr. Apostolou said that "it is not the bill that fully satisfies us, but it improves the current situation and on this we can build and improve it in the coming months and years to take our country, in terms of supporting people with disabilities, where we want."
Concluding, he said that "unfortunately, people with disabilities have always been the last wheel of the carriage for our state and this is demonstrated by all European statistics that compare what the Republic of Cyprus gives in relation to other European countries to people with disabilities and in this context we ask for even more increased budgets to support these people".
In his statements, the Member of Parliament of the Democratic Party (DIPA), Giorgos Penintaex stated that the faction considers the bill a particularly positive development and supports it, as it moves in the direction of removing significant discrimination that exists between people with disabilities.
He added that "the distinction between different categories of disability is contrary to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which is why this bill contributes substantially to the correction of distortions that have existed for years."
Mr. Penintaex said that the new framework makes visible categories of our fellow citizens with "invisible" disabilities, which until now were not sufficiently recognized by the state, despite the fact that they are part of social reality.
He noted as particularly important "the fact that almost four and a half thousand people who receive disability and disability pensions and to date are outside state welfare, will now be included in the new beneficiaries of the support system".
Also, the DIPA MP continued, "the bill provides answers to a deep anxiety of many families, as parents of children with disabilities will be able to feel more secure that their children will not be deprived of state support in the future due to income criteria".
Mr. Penintaex stated that "it is provided that children with disabilities will receive the full amount of €848, in addition to the care provided to them, until the completion of their studies, while the role of parents or other family members as caregivers of people with disabilities is institutionally recognized, satisfying a long-standing request of the families themselves and organized bodies".
He added that the bill is not the perfect solution, but it is an important step in the right direction, as the establishment of a single legislative framework is expected to contribute substantially to the reduction of discrimination between people with disabilities.
Mr. Penintaex noted that "DIPA will continue to closely monitor the development of the discussion in the Committee, in order to identify and correct any problems or distortions that may arise in the future".
The bill is not perfect but its passage is a one-way street, says the President of KYSOA
For her part, the President of the Cyprus Organization of Associations of the Disabled (KYSOA), Themis Anthopoulou stated that "the emblematic of the new single legislation for people with disabilities lies in the fact that it frees from the absurd income criteria of the Guaranteed Minimum Income, the disability benefits that come to cover the disability costs of individuals".
He added that it is not the perfect bill but it will bring people with disabilities to a better position than the one in which people with disabilities are "that is why as KYSOA we say that for executive and legislative power but also for a disability movement, it is a one-way street to pass the bill as soon as possible because there are thousands of people who live in conditions of misery due to their disability, a consequence of the current state welfare framework".
OPAK asks for more responsible support from the state
The President of the Cyprus Paraplegic Organization (OPAK) Demetris Lambrianides stated that "if we exclude the announcement for the creation of support services for people with disabilities, at least for people with severe mobility disabilities, this legislation does not offer any increase in the benefits they currently receive and with which they buy services to cover the cost of care services or the cost of disability they face".
He added that "we expected from the state much more responsible support for people with disabilities and an upgrade of the welfare state and social welfare policies, especially after three years when surpluses have exceeded €3 billion.".
As Mr. Lambrianidis said, "people with disabilities must be supported more overall, because our state has done very little in recent years and this is shown in the evaluations by the European Statistical Office and the comparison with other European countries."
"We expect even at the last minute the state to behave more responsibly towards people with disabilities in general," said the President of OPAK.
