The Minister of Transport took stock of the Government's actions to improve the living conditions of people with disabilities, Communications and Works Minister Yannis Karousos on Saturday at the Annual General Assembly of the Cyprus Confederation of Disabled People's Organisations (CYSOA), who is acting Minister of Labour and Social Welfare in place of Zeta Emylianidou, due to the latter's health problem.
As mentioned by Mr. Karousos, the fulfillment of the rights of persons with disabilities as equal members of society and the improvement of their quality of life, through reforms and additional actions within the framework of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, is the Government's vision for persons with disabilities, adding that in order to comprehensively address the issues of persons with disabilities, the fulfillment of their rights and the implementation of the state's obligations under the above-mentioned Convention, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a resolution on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
According to the Minister, the Second National Action Plan for the three-year period 2018-2020, which was completed, included a total of 86 actions from 8 Ministries, of which 54 actions were fully implemented (63%), 26 actions were partially implemented (30%) and 6 actions were not implemented (7%), while the completed actions included, among others, the operation of seven new supported living houses in the community in which 28 people with intellectual disabilities and 4 people with visual disabilities were integrated, the provision of social protection and social inclusion support to more than 10 people.000 people with disabilities, supporting through the Welfare Benefit Administration Service over 9,000 beneficiaries of the Minimum Guaranteed Income with additional disability and care benefits at a cost of €43 million. per year and the implementation of the Recruitment of Persons with Disabilities in the Wider Public Sector (Special Provisions) Act, which increased the number of recruits in the Education Service, the Public Service and Public Law Entities from 2010 to 2020 to a total of 251 persons.
Mr. Karousos went on to say that the Third National Action Plan for Disability 2021-2023 is currently being implemented, which was approved by a decision of the Council of Ministers in January 2022 and includes 135 actions (58 new actions and 77 ongoing actions) to be implemented by 8 Ministries and 3 Deputy Ministries, noting at the same time that during the formulation of the Action Plan, requests, opinions and suggestions of representative organizations of persons with disabilities were taken into account, especially the KYSOA and the Pancyprian Alliance for Disability.
Of the new actions implemented or expected to be implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance, Mr. Karousos singled out the further expansion of the network of housing and supported living programs for adults, mainly with intellectual disability or autism, the expansion of the operation of the first Family Intervention and Support Center for Children with Autism, the implementation of a new project for a "New Network of Social Integration Services for Persons with Disabilities" with the involvement of organizations of persons with disabilities and other economic actors, as well as the implementation of the new pilot program "Provision of Counseling Services for Persons with Disabilities".
In conclusion, the Minister of Transport said that the actions of the Ministry that are already implemented or planned for implementation and the European resources that have already been secured for their implementation, upgrade the policy, legislation and the practical results of the social services and social benefits provided for people with disabilities in our country, stressing that above all, it is necessary to improve perceptions, attitudes and attitudes towards the diversity of people as well as to improve the level of respect of Cypriot society.
