Following yesterday's publication of the newspaper "Haravgi", entitled "People with disabilities trapped in poverty", and to set the record straight, the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare lists some of the actions taken in the last decade by the Government for people with disabilities:
- Under the Anastasiades government, four social benefits that had been affected in 2012 under the previous government were fully restored. In particular, the annual ATA-based increase in the Blindness Allowance and the Severe Mobility Disability Allowance was reinstated, the Holiday Grant Scheme for Persons with Disabilities (annual cost €300,000) was reinstated, and the level of appropriations was restored to €1.7 million per year for the Car Purchase Financial Assistance.
- At the same time, three new social benefits targeting new groups of people with severe disabilities were introduced: in 2015 the Movement Allowance for Haemodialysis Kidney Patients was implemented with 700 new beneficiaries, in 2018 the Movement Allowance for Transfused Thalassaemics with 500 new beneficiaries and in 2019 the Movement Allowance for Blind People who are not working and regardless of their age with 1,700 beneficiaries.
- From 2019, the Care Allowances for Persons with Quadriplegia and Paraplegia and the Mobility Allowances for all beneficiaries (blind and physically disabled) have been increased by 30%, with an additional annual expenditure of €4 million for more than 6,000 beneficiaries.
- For the first time, a National Disability Strategy for the period 2018-2028 and three-year National Action Plans for the implementation of the Strategy and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities were drawn up. Indicatively, the current 3rd National Action Plan (2021-2023) includes 58 new actions and 77 ongoing actions. Out of a total of 135 actions for the three-year period, 63 (47% of the planned actions) have already been fully completed.
- The service programmes subsidised and provided by NGOs have increased. In particular, the number of employment programmes with support in the open labour market to support 380 people with mental or intellectual disabilities has increased to 24, and the number of social companion subsidy programmes for 900 people with severe disabilities (blind people, people with autism, people with intellectual disabilities, people with motor disabilities) for their daily activities has increased to 19.
- Approved for the first time in 2022 the grant and operation by the Cyprus Confederation of Disabled People's Organisations of a pilot programme for the employment of Decision-Making Counsellors.
- The new Disability Assessment System was co-financed with an expenditure of €3.9 million for the period 2014-2020, while it was also included in the National Plan "Cyprus_Tomorrow" with a budget of €10.5 million for the period 2021-2027. The result of this was the creation of a network with three Disability Assessment Centres in Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca, aiming to provide decentralised and more direct service to people with disabilities nationwide, thus correcting many weaknesses and gaps and upgrading the objectivity, scientificity and reliability of assessments. Indicatively, it is noted that from the end of 2013 until the end of 2021, when the first Assessment Centre in Nicosia became operational, more than 20,000 people with disabilities were assessed and every citizen received a comprehensive disability assessment report, an access passport, with certification of all their benefits in social benefits and services.
- To address the lack of structures and services to support the independent living of people with intellectual disabilities and autism and to avoid their institutionalisation and social exclusion, nine residences were created and three assisted living programmes operated, at a cost of €2.8 million. The project is being expanded with the creation of five more houses and more programmes with a budget for the period 2021-2027 of €20 million from the European Social Fund and €2.4 million from the Recovery and Resilience Plan.
- In 2021, the Family Intervention and Support Centre for Autism "Aktida" was created to support children with autism and their families. The project continues to serve 300 families with a budget of €5 million for the period 2021-2027.
- For the period 2021-2027, the "New Network of Social Integration Services for People with Disabilities" was included as a new project, with a total expenditure of €30 million for the introduction of new social services, such as Personal Assistant, Counsellor, Trainer, etc.
- In October 2022, the Council of Ministers approved the creation of a National Commission for Autism, meeting the demand for the design and implementation of specific actions to meet the full range of needs of people with autism.
In addition, having recognised for months the need for new legislation on services and benefits for people with disabilities, both the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance and the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare have expressed their intention to draft a modern legislative framework that meets the real needs of people with disabilities. In this context, and as the direct recipient of the new legislation, the KYSOA has been repeatedly invited to submit its views and suggestions in order to proceed with a structured consultation on the issue. In particular, there has been an increase in annual expenditure from €28 million to €45 million (a 60% increase), as well as a more than doubling of beneficiaries from 7,000 to 15,000 for the period 2013-2022.
As can be seen from the above, the last decade has seen leaps and bounds of improvement in many areas of the lives of people with disabilities. The State Ministry of Social Welfare categorically rejects nihilistic reports and invites constructive input from stakeholders in order to address the problems of all persons with disabilities.
(MKY)
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