On Monday evening, President Christodoulides announced a second package of actions totalling €50 million aimed at “addressing negative demographic trends and reconciling family and professional life,” as stated in an official announcement.
The New Measures
- Increase in the Birth Grant from €628 to €1,000 for the first child, €1,500 for the second child, and €2,000 for the third child.
- Expansion of eligibility for the Parental Leave Allowance by raising the child’s age limit from 8 years to 15 years.
- Extension of the duration of the Parental Leave Allowance for the second child from 8 weeks to 10 weeks, and for the third child from 8 weeks to 12 weeks.
- Monthly financial support of €200 for mothers who have their first child before the age of 30, for a period of 24 months following birth.
- Pilot extension of the operating hours of Nursery and Childcare Centres until 7:30 p.m. to better meet the needs of working parents.
- Support for businesses by subsidising costs for creating Nursery Centres, Childcare Centres, and Child Protection and Employment Centres to support the needs of working parents, targeting businesses and partnerships with more than 100 employees.
- Expansion of the number of large families eligible for child benefit by removing income and property criteria for families with five or more dependent children.
Current Measures
President Christodoulides referenced the actions taken under the first set of measures, also totalling €50 million, implemented during the first months of his administration, including:
- Extension of maternity leave duration for the first child from 18 weeks to 22 weeks.
- Expansion of eligibility for parental leave allowance to include self-employed individuals.
- Approval of a housing subsidy scheme for young couples and individuals up to 41 years of age.
- Approval of a subsidy scheme for couples with infertility who pursue in vitro fertilisation.
- Increase in the honorary allowance for mothers with large families.
- Increase in the Child Benefit.
- Extension of child benefit coverage to include students from large families, with a provision of 50% of the Child Benefit.
- Expansion of eligibility for the Tuition and Child Feeding Subsidy Scheme to include all Child Benefit recipients, raising the eligible age limit from 4 to 4.5 years.
- Expansion of compulsory pre-school education and enhancement of childcare services for working parents.
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