Allowances for taking care of blind persons to increase

The state allowances for accompanying and home-nursing blind invalids of degree I will increase from 150 to 300 lei per month. An amendment in this respect is to be approved by the Parliament after it had been confirmed by the Government. According to data from the Ministry of Social Protection, additional means worth over 4.26 mln lei are needed from the 2007 State Budget to increase the allowances for 3550 persons. Initially, in the context of the expenses for average term 2007 -2009 there was stipulated to increase this allowance to 200 lei, but, according to the Government, it has been supplemented “taking into account the situation of dismissals of several employees at the enterprises of Moldova Society of Blind People, grounded on insolvency”. At the same time, the allowance for the persons who nurse at home a disabled child under 16, of degree I, will be increased from 150 to 200 lei. For this purpose, the additional expenses will make up about 8.8 mln lei annually. The project also provides for the increase in the quantum of the decease assistance for the uninsured persons. This will rise from 500 to 600 lei. According to preliminary estimations, the necessary sum for increasing these expenses is about 600,000 lei annually. The necessary total sum to increase the state allowances under the draft law forwarded for approval amounts to about 13.78 mln lei annually.