The bill presented to the Parliamentary Committee on Labor by the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Tina Pavlou, presented to the Parliamentary Committee on Labor. Following the meeting, she stated that the proposed changes will benefit an additional 23,000 families. Members of Parliament acknowledged that the bill introduces improved provisions for the child allowance, but they pointed out that there is still considerable room for improvement, given the pressures families face due to the high cost of living.
Ms. Pavlou specifically stated that “this is a big day for the Deputy Ministry” the introduction of the bill, noting that the provisions it contains provide for a 5%–10% increase in support for families, depending on their income. The Deputy Minister highlighted as key points, on the one hand, the fact that the bill corrects the “significant distortion caused by the abrupt cutoff of the entire allowance when a family received only a very small increase,” by relaxing the income criteria.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
On the other hand, he noted that it is considered equally important to combine the allowance with services, “because no allowance is effective unless it is combined with services,” as he put it. She explained that expanding the child allowance increases the number of beneficiaries eligible for the tuition and meal subsidy program. The Deputy Minister said she was “proud” that more than 2,000 families and 2,800 children will now be able to benefit from this program.
When asked about the amount of the child allowance, the Deputy Minister replied that it varies by category, noting that the total cost of this expenditure amounts to €12.5 million.
When asked whether the amendment to the law is being promoted as part of measures to address the demographic problem, Ms. Pavlou expressed the view that EU studies have shown that benefit policies have not altered demographic trends, adding that, on the contrary, Canada and Norway have concluded that what helps reduce the low birth rate is, on the one hand, free education starting from infancy and, on the other hand, parental counseling. He noted, however, that this does not negate the government’s intention to support families.
For his part, the Committee Chair and AKEL Member of Parliament, Giorgos Koukoumas, emphasized in his remarks that Cyprus spends less than 1% of its GDP on families and children, which is less than half the European average, as he noted, citing 2024 data on how much each European country spends on families and children, relative to the total amount of social benefits in each country, and noting that the government provides support “in dribs and drabs.”
While acknowledging that the bill contains certain improvements and positive changes, Mr. Koukoumas noted that “it falls far short of the needs of the modern family, which is facing the unbearable cost of living in our country.”
Specifically, he said that the bill completely excludes Cyprus’s thousands of single-parent families from any improvements and that it does not establish a permanent and automatic mechanism for the annual adjustmentthe income brackets for the allowance, “something that we all otherwise consider reasonable and necessary,” as Mr. Koukoumas put it.
He added that the amount of the allowance was and remains very low, and that the 10% increase and 5% increase, which is granted only to the lowest income brackets, cannot cover even half of the price increases for basic goods in recent years.
Finally, he noted that the bill fails to fulfill the pre-election promises made by President Christodoulides to families with three or more children, regarding the abolition of income and asset criteria, concluding that there are a series of legislative proposals that will be submitted alongside the bill for a vote, to address these gaps.
DISY MP Andreas Konstantinou said that DISY’s long-standing position for the past 3.5 years has been to increase the child allowance and correspondingly broaden the income criteria within the limits of the state’s fiscal capacity.
He noted that the bill is a step in the right direction, but the increases in benefits must be substantial enough for citizens to actually feel the difference in their pockets, “and not be used as a pre-election gimmick or presented as just another checkbox item in yet another reform with no real impact,” he said.
By way of example, the DISY MP noted that for families with annual incomes of up to €22,000 per year, the bill proposes an increase of €5 per month. “We expect the government to have reconsidered the thresholds it has set, so that the middle class and large families can be substantially supported. Our country’s economy provides us with the leeway to substantially improve the bill for the benefit of families,” he concluded.
DIKO MP Andreas Apostolou said that the issue of the child allowance is one of the key issues to which the state should devote a larger portion of its resources, and he expressed satisfaction that the bill increases the number of beneficiaries.
However, he added that the time has come for the state to be even more generous toward Cypriot families. “For this reason, we have submitted specific proposals both today and during private meetings we’ve had with the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare,” he said.
Specifically, he said that a five-year waiting period for families repatriating from third countries to become eligible is considered unacceptable. “The bill I have submitted—which the Deputy Ministry views favorably—stipulates that all families with one or two Cypriot parents who are repatriated from any country will be entitled to the child allowance from the first day of their repatriation.”
Furthermore, the DIKO MP said that “we believe that large families should be supported even more, and we should reverse the cuts that the government made in 2012 or at that time,” noting that they support the dialogue between the Deputy Ministry and the Organization of Large Families.
Mr. Apostolou also pointed out that there are distortions regarding income criteria or benefit increases for certain segments of the population. “We have submitted specific proposals to the Deputy Minister to make certain changes. We fully understand that all these changes require a larger budget. But we believe that since the economy is doing well, this money should be returned to Cypriot citizens—and especially to families who have been wronged in recent years.”
ELAM MP Sotiris Ioannou highlighted in his remarks the importance of the fact that “after 15–20 years, we now have policies that focus on the family itself, and I am referring very specifically to the child allowance and tax reform.”
He noted that the bill currently before Parliament regarding the child allowance is a small step in the right direction, as the income criteria are being raised to a satisfactory degree, noting, however, that the amount of the allowance needs to be increased further. He added that the ultimate goal should be to eliminate the income criteria, especially for families with three or more children.
Mr. Ioannou said that the bill does not address the various distortions in the outdated legislation, such as the need for automatic adjustment of income criteria based on the ATA, the maintenance of a family’s status when its children cease to be dependents, and the modernization and broadening of the definition of “dependent.” He also referred to ELAM’s proposal that only Cypriot citizens be eligible for the child allowance, as is the case with the student grant.
Alma Movement MP Michalis Paraskevas, in remarks made after the Labor Committee meeting, welcomed the increases provided for in the bill, noting that this money comes from taxpayers.
He added, however, that various factors must be taken into account when determining the allowance, such as regional housing costs and inflation. He cited countries such as Germany and Finland as examples, noting that in those countries, place of residence and the cost of housing are factored into benefit policy, especially when there are very large disparities, as is the case in Limassol.
He described as “unacceptable” the restriction on benefit eligibility after five years of permanent residence, noting that there are many cases where people were absent abroad. “It is not possible for these people to be excluded,” he said, adding that they should be automatically entitled to this benefit.
Dimitris Souglis, a member of parliament for Direct Democracy, Dimitris Souglis, acknowledged in his remarks that the bill is moving in the right direction, but described the increases provided through the proposed provisions as “peanuts.” Mr. Souglis emphasized that income criteria must be abolished for both large families and families with three children, as part of the effort to address the demographic problem, recalling that this was also a pre-election pledge made by the President of the Republic.
Source: CNA
