The proceedings on the Bill on family benefits continued in the Riigikogu

At its today’s sitting the Riigikogu continued to review the motions to amend the Family Benefits Act that had been submitted for the second reading. The opportunity to ask for a ten-minute recess before each voting was used. 103 of 1191 motions to amend had been voted on by the end of today’s sitting. The review will continue at tomorrow’s sitting.

The Bill on Amendments to the Family Benefits Act (619 SE), initiated by 54 members of the Riigikogu, will raise the child allowance for the first and second child from 60 euro to 100 euro, that is, to the same level as the child allowance for the third and subsequent children. According to the Bill, the allowance for families with many children will rise from 300 euro to 700 euro per month for families with three to six children, and from 400 euro to 900 euro for families with seven or more children. In order that the allowance for families with many children would continue to be proportional to the rise in the standard of living, and that the amount of the allowance would not need to be changed every year, the allowance will be indexed by 1 April of each year. The value of the index will depend to the extent of 20 per cent on the annual increase in the consumer price index and to the extent of 80 per cent on the annual increase in the receipt of the pension insurance part of social tax. At present, the payment of the allowance for families with many children stops when the first child attains the age of majority. In the future, however, it will be paid in the full amount for as long as the family is raising at least three children who are minors. In the case of families with many children, the allowance will be paid to the extent of two thirds of the allowance if two of the children are minors, and to the extent one third if one child is a minor.

The Reform Party Faction had submitted about 1660 motions to amend the Bill by the deadline, and the Social Democratic Party Faction had submitted four. The lead committee had not incorporated the motions. The motions of the Reform Party Faction that were connected with amendment of State Budget for 2022 Act had not been entered in the table of motions to amend. There were about 470 such motions.

During the second reading, the Social Affairs Committee decided to amend the Bill by adding a provision under which the single parent’s child allowance would be doubled by raising it to 40 euro. The committee had also incorporated into the Bill the amendment under which, in the case of a multiple birth, the allowance for families with many children would be paid until the children attain the age of 21 years.

The sitting ended at 11.54 p.m.

Source: Parliament of Estonia