The establishment of a unified and comprehensive legislative framework for the social participation and independent living of people with disabilities was announced on Thursday by the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, at the start of the Council of Ministers meeting at the Presidential Palace, characterizing it as an "emblematic" social reform.
Addressing the members of the Council of Ministers, at the beginning of the session of the House, President Christodoulides said, "today we are taking a very important decision, since for the first time since the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus, a unified and comprehensive legislative framework is being established for the social participation and independent living of people with disabilities."
Today's decision, he notes, "represents an emblematic social reform that substantially strengthens the Welfare State in our country and holistically upgrades the support framework for people with disabilities."
A key pillar of today's decision is independent living, with benefits decoupling from income criteria for people with severe disabilities, "substantially strengthening, among other things, their dignity and autonomy," he added.
According to President Christodoulides, this political will is also reflected in the budget, as 106 million euros have been provided for the three-year period from 2026 to 2028. "And it is this responsible management of finances that allows us to invest in the welfare state as well as in other sectors," he said.
"Fully aware of the fact that the Parliament will complete its work soon in view of the Parliamentary Elections, we hope, also investing in the social sensitivity of the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Labor and Welfare, Mr. (Andreas) Kafkalias, that the consultations will proceed immediately and we will achieve the passage of the relevant bill," he added.
At the same time, he continued, “and it is relevant to our decision today, I had the first meeting in the past few days with the Citizens' Social Alliance, which was recently established and in which KYSOA, OSAK and the Third Age Observatory participate”. “I want all of us to cooperate with the Citizens' Social Alliance to be substantial and systematic”, he said, noting that, for his part, “we have agreed that we will hold regular meetings within a specific time frame, through an institutionalized cooperation mechanism”.
"I call on all of you, because it concerns all Ministries horizontally, to do the same," said the President, addressing the members of the Council of Ministers. "They are our collaborators and fellow travelers in the effort we are making within the framework of our ideological and political approach, of Social Liberalism," he added.
At the same time, President Christodoulides called on the members of the Council of Ministers to appoint Accessibility Officers in their Ministry/Deputy Ministry who will, among other things, be the points of contact "at all times" with the Social Alliance, on issues concerning each Ministry/Deputy Ministry, thus adopting the recommendation of KYSOA, he noted.
In the same context, the President said, "but also as a sign of our political will for a strong Welfare State, we are also deciding to make the National Guard's aircraft available for the air transport of patients in need of immediate transplantation, as well as for the transport of transplants where and when required." He noted that the National Guard's aircraft also include the presidential aircraft, which has been out of service for the past year, as he noted, "but once it is put into service, it will be available for such purposes."
