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Flagship child benefits programme will last for years: Polish PM

PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk 22.03.2018 08:30
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has said his government’s flagship child benefits programme will continue for “many years.”
PM Mateusz Morawiecki summing up the two years since the government launched its “500+” child benefits programme. Photo: PAP/Darek DelmanowiczPM Mateusz Morawiecki summing up the two years since the government launched its “500+” child benefits programme. Photo: PAP/Darek Delmanowicz

"I can promise that in the years ahead, for many years ahead, it will be a key, permanent part of our programme,” Morawiecki said on Wednesday, as the government marked two years since the child benefits were introduced.

With its “500+” programme, Poland’s socially conservative government aims to ease the burdens of child rearing by giving families with two or more children a handout of PLN 500 (USD 145, EUR 118) a month per child.

Poorer families receive the allowance even if they have just one child.

Morawiecki said that when the Law and Justice government came to power in late 2015, "public finances were in poor shape.”

"It seemed that maybe there wouldn’t be enough money for our very ambitious programmes,” he added.

Cash injection

But he said the government had cracked down on tax fraud, resulting in a hefty cash injection for state coffers.

"We allocated these tens of billions of zlotys to the Family 500+ programme and other social programmes," added Morawiecki.

Elżbieta Rafalska, the minister for family, labour and social policy, said the child benefits programme was reducing poverty among families, especially those with many children.

(pk/gs)

Source: PAP

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