LAW ON DISABILITY - THE GOVERNMENT BILL WAS PASSED WITH CHANGES - THE GOVERNMENT WILL ONLY BE ABLE TO INCREASE BENEFITS - DISCONNECTION FROM THE GMI - Filenews 6/4 by Marilena Panayi
The law on disability was unanimously passed by the Plenary Session of the Parliament, thus paving the way for the decoupling of the disability allowance from the Guaranteed Minimum Income and the inclusion of thousands of people with disabilities, who until now did not enjoy the relevant support, in the various state plans.
During the discussion of the relevant bill in the Plenary, the parties underlined that the changes provided for by the new legislation "should not be considered to be the end of the road" and stressed that citizens will begin to benefit from the new regulations gradually and over time based on government planning and not immediately after the law is passed.
In the remarks of the MPs and the changes that the Parliament made on the government bill with the aim, as it was emphasized, to ensure the real support of people with disabilities in Cyprus.
It is reported that the changes were made during the article-by-article discussion of the bill at the level of the parliamentary Labour Committee with the participation of the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare.
Perhaps the most important change in the government bill is the introduction of a provision under which the Council of Ministers will have the right to decide only on increases in benefits and social benefits and not the right to reduce or cut, without seeking the consent of the Parliament.
An additional change, among other things, concerned the time of entry into force of the benefits, so that it is calculated from the day the request is submitted by the person with a disability and not on the day of completion of their evaluation.
With relevant provisions, it was also ensured that existing benefits are not abolished, while the condition of having a driver's license for the provision of a special sponsorship for the purchase of a disabled car was deleted.
As it was pointed out, a major change in the way people with disabilities are supported in Cyprus concerns the decoupling of disability-related benefits with the Guaranteed Minimum Income, with MPs reminding, during their statements, that until now, people whose social benefits were increased even by a few euros, lost their rights after they stopped meeting the income criteria.
The procedure in the Plenary Session of the Parliament was attended, after being present, by the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Klea Papaellina.
