Ramona Petraviča: „We need mutual respect and acceptance between generations”
Szerző:csalad.hu, fotó: Förster Tamás2019. 09. 05.Támogatások, kedvezmények
We have set the objective of improving our demographics, as birth rates are declining in our country as well, and with this in mind we have reformed our family support system. In the meantime, however, we must also keep an eye on the measures taken by other countries, to learn what brings the desired results - explained Ramona Petraviča, Welfare Minister from Latvia.
Sharing one of their key dilemmas, the Minister highlighted that it was difficult to find the right balance between supporting older and younger generations. In Latvia, pensioners are endangered by poverty, so we plan to improve minimum pensions through budgetary measures.
– The current situation is untenable. However, this measure does not induce any improvement in our demographics, and consequently it won’t alleviate this problem. We need mutual respect and acceptance between generations- she emphasised. As for younger people, we must pay a lot of attention to supporting parents with young children, helping their return to the labour market by boosting the number of places in private and state nurseries. In addition to the family allowance, we have also introduced various family support measures, varying by the number of children in the family. We understand that our system still requires improvement, and we must boost the support provided to families with young children. It is especially important to focus on large families with many children – explained the Minister from Latvia.
Finally, Ramona Petraviča also explained that significant strides had been made in getting children’s rights recognised, as well as in finding answers to the difficulties faced by orphans: the number of children living in children’s homes is reducing, as we can rehome an increasing number of children with families.