2023-12-11 18:57:28
Opposition motions on family benefits and the protection and rights of children and young people postponed
Vienna (PK) – The additional earnings limit for income-dependent childcare allowance will rise to €8,100 per year in 2024. A corresponding initiative proposal from the ÖVP and the Greens was submitted today Family Committee approved unanimously. However, only a majority approved an amendment to the law change and a committee proposal to extend the entitlement of Ukrainian refugees to childcare allowance or family allowance until March 4, 2025. The Freedom Party did not go along with these two points.
Three motions on the subject of childcare allowance, which were submitted by the opposition factions SPÖ, FPÖ and NEOS, were postponed once more.
A number of motions from the Social Democrats and the Freedom Party that concern the protection and rights of children and young people were put on hold by the ÖVP and the Greens. The SPÖ advocates more efforts in the fight once morest child poverty and a strengthening of child and youth welfare. The Social Democrats are also calling for a package of measures for child protection and special protection provisions for so-called child influencers.
In addition to an app that provides an overview of family benefits, the FPÖ is also calling for more funds for the implementation of the youth strategy and a general ban on surrogacy in the EU.
Additional earnings limit for childcare allowance will be raised
The additional income limit for income-dependent childcare allowance and for flat-rate childcare allowance is to be increased from the previous limit of €7,800 per calendar year to €8,100. This is intended to ensure that part-time employment is still possible during the entitlement period, the MPs from the ÖVP and the Greens justify the initiative motion that initiates this change (3753/A).
The increase in the limit became necessary due to the increased cost of living, ÖVP MP Joachim Schnabel explained the application. Now they want to ensure that part-time employment remains possible. Schnabel also submitted an amendment, according to which the entitlement to childcare allowance for displaced people from Ukraine who have temporary right of residence in Austria would be extended until March 4, 2025. In connection with the content of the initiative proposal for childcare allowance, he also submitted another proposal from the ÖVP and the Greens to amend the Family Burden Equalization Act in order to extend the entitlement of the above-mentioned group of people to child benefit until March 4, 2025.
The increase in the additional earnings limit was approved by members of all parliamentary groups. Petra Wimmer and Christian Oxonitsch criticized the SPÖ for making the necessary adjustments so late. Petra Ecker (FPÖ) also complained that the necessary increase was once once more coming very late. NEOS MP Michael Bernhard said that an automatic annual increase in the additional earnings limit, as has already been implemented in other areas, would offer more legal and planning security.
While the SPÖ and NEOS also agreed to the amendment or the committee motion regarding the extension of the rights of Ukraine refugees to childcare allowance and family allowance, FPÖ MP Ecker demanded a separate vote on the amendment. She explained that her group would agree to increasing the limit for additional earnings, but not to the planned amendment or additional proposal.
Family Minister Susanne Raab said she understood the concern for planning security. Your department is trying to get the cost of living adjustments underway quickly, but the necessary statistical data is always only available in November.
The opposition’s motions on the subject of childcare allowance were also in the negotiations, all of which were postponed by the ÖVP and the Greens. The SPÖ, FPÖ and NEOS are calling for this in a joint initiative (3422/A(E)) the elimination of “bureaucratic hurdles and pitfalls,” said SPÖ MP Wimmer. Like NEOS MP Michael Bernhard and FPÖ MP Rosa Ecker, she referred to problems highlighted by the Ombudsman and the Chamber of Labor in this context. According to the MPs, the deficiencies affect both the current legal situation and enforcement. In his own motion, NEOS MP Michael Bernhard called for the waiting time for childcare benefit to be shortened (1481/A(E)). It happens once more and once more that mothers remain without insurance coverage for long periods of time, he said. The NEOS MP is also of the opinion that the processing of the maternity leave models should be fundamentally simplified in order to reduce the need for advice (3138/A(E)).
The ÖVP MPs Lukas Brandweiner, Carmen Jeitler-Cincelli and Johanna Jachs spoke in favor of postponing these motions. They unanimously argued that childcare allowance offers a lot of options and can therefore be flexibly addressed to the needs of families. However, this also creates a certain complexity, said Brandweiner. From his point of view, the number of problem cases is “manageable”.
Family Minister Raab explained that the federal government had worked continuously over the past few years to simplify and reduce the bureaucracy of processing childcare benefits and to provide parents with comprehensive advice. As a further step, a consultation hour on family benefits will be included in the parent-child pass. This is intended to ensure that parents definitely receive a general overview of family benefits. Of course, they might then seek further advice where there is a need for further advice. Problem cases often arise from reports from authorities in other EU member states arriving late. Her department is working very intensively on improving the exchange.
SPÖ: Strengthen the fight once morest child poverty
The SPÖ calls for targeted action once morest child poverty. Austria urgently needs a package of measures to eliminate child poverty, which, among other things, provides for a legal right to a free all-day children’s education place as well as a free warm, healthy lunch for school and kindergarten children, said SPÖ MP Petra Wimmer (3718/A(E)). It is shameful that Austria is failing to implement the “European Child Guarantee” to ensure children’s rights in the form of free and secure access to care, education and housing, said Wimmer.
Michael Bernhard (NEOS) saw the expansion of benefits in kind as the right path. Petra Ecker (FPÖ), on the other hand, said that general offers from the federal government, such as free lunch for all students, were not the right way. Benefits in kind should be offered by municipalities and cities that know where there is a need.
MP Barbara Neßler (Greens) underlined the coalition factions’ commitment to the fight once morest child poverty. The anti-inflation measures also succeeded in preventing children from falling into poverty. Nikolaus Prinz pointed out that the National Action Plan for the implementation of the European Guarantee for Children in Austria was nearing completion and submitted a motion to postpone the motion.
FPÖ wants to create more transparency regarding family benefits with the app
An application from the FPÖ for an app that gives families an overview of all family benefits was recently postponed (2102/A(E)). Rosa Ecker (FPÖ) emphasized that digital progress should be used for families.
There are already several online offers that enable easy access to information, said Gudrun Kugler (ÖVP). For example, the familienportal.gv.at platform also works perfectly on mobile phones, there is also a digital office and the new parent-child pass will soon be available as an app. Instead of new apps, it would be better to combine existing offers so as not to overwhelm people with an excess of options, says Kugler. The NEOS would support the call for an app for family benefits, said Yannick Shetty. This might be bundled in the digital office application. However, so far only a few people have used the digital office; there is still “a lot of room for improvement,” says Shetty. In order to reduce the complexity when it comes to family benefits, the concept of basic child security might be discussed, said Barbara Nessler (Greens).
Discussion regarding a federal child protection law
In a motion, the SPÖ called for the rapid implementation of a comprehensive federal child protection law as well as a series of additional measures to prevent violence once morest children (3568/A(E)). Christian Oxonitsch (SPÖ) also asked regarding the timetable for the regulation on the child protection concepts in schools that have already been adopted. It was announced that the regulation would come before Christmas, but it is not yet available and the concrete implementation of the child protection concepts in schools is therefore not yet clear, said Oxonitsch.
Yannick Shetty (NEOS) said he welcomed the proposal for a federal child protection law, because such a law would be a departure from the “transformation” of child protection, which was a mistake and leads to problems in practice. When it comes to child protection, a lot is already happening in the area of prevention, including in clubs, said Nikolaus Prinz (ÖVP). Barbara Nessler (Greens) emphasized that the Quality Assurance Center for Child Protection helps to create protection concepts and contributes to raising awareness. It is important that children know their rights, which is why a children’s rights campaign is planned for spring. In the long term, a federal child protection law is a goal, admitted Nessler. Sibylle Hamann (Greens) pointed out that the child protection concepts adopted for schools had succeeded in including protection once morest psychological violence and thus defined the concept of violence very broadly. According to Hamann, they also know that the regulation should come before Christmas.
Evaluation of child and youth welfare required
In another motion, the SPÖ called for a general evaluation of child and youth welfare (3719/A(E)).
Child and youth welfare has been handed over to the states, said Barbara Nessler (Greens) and therefore submitted the motion to postpone. An evaluation would certainly be possible, replied Rosa Ecker (FPÖ), pointing out that expectations of child and youth welfare have become much greater in recent years. As a federal mandate, you shouldn’t turn a blind eye to this matter, even if the area falls under the responsibility of the states, said Eva Maria Holzleitner, emphasizing that an evaluation is “extremely important.” Yannick Shetty (NEOS) said he supports this view of Holzleitner.
Implementation of the youth strategy
A motion from the FPÖ in which the Freedom Party would like more financial resources for youth policy and the implementation of current youth goals in accordance with the Austrian Youth Strategy (3745/A(E)) demanded.
Rosa Ecker (FPÖ) and Maximilian Köllner (SPÖ) wanted to know when the youth strategy would be implemented. Lukas Brandweiner (ÖVP) said that there is ongoing work on implementing the youth goals and that the federal youth representatives are involved. The 2022 implementation report is almost finished. It is important that all ministries participate in achieving the goals, he emphasized.
Protect children from the dangers of the Internet
The SPÖ called for measures to protect once morest exploitation of so-called child influencers (3505/A(E)). This area is a “blind spot” in child protection. Child influencers must be protected from economic exploitation by their parents, said Christian Oxonitsch (SPÖ).
When it comes to child protection, a lot is also happening in the digital area. For example, the subject “Digital Basic Education” has been introduced in schools, and there is also the platform saferinternet.at, said Lukas Brandweiner (ÖVP) and therefore submitted the motion to postpone. Rosa Ecker (FPÖ) said that she does think that there needs to be more child protection in the entire online sector, especially with regard to sexual harassment and high costs for online purchases. Yannick Shetty (NEOS) also said that many measures were still needed to protect children in this context.
Commitment to the ban on surrogacy
A motion from the FPÖ calling for a ban on surrogacy (3169/A(E)) at EU level.
Surrogate mothers are mostly found in third countries, so this issue needs to be discussed broadly, for example at a parliamentary inquiry, said Michael Bernard (NEOS). There is no need for action at the national level because surrogacy is prohibited in Austria, said Barbara Nessler (Greens). It is not true that there is no need for action, replied Rosa Ecker, the issue also affects Austria. The SPÖ would like to approve this motion because the motion does not refer to the national level, but rather to the advocacy of an EU-wide ban on surrogacy, according to Eva Maria Holzleitner (SPÖ). The ÖVP strictly rejects surrogacy, and an international regulation is therefore desirable, said Johanna Jachs (ÖVP).
It is positive to note that there is a strong solidarity for a ban on surrogacy in Austria, said Family Minister Susanne Raab. Austria has a very clear position and will of course not agree if any easing of this should be considered at the EU level. Raab emphasized that she sees it as her current working position to continually campaign for a general ban on surrogacy at EU level. (End of family committee) sox/bea
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