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The government will continue to maintain and develop the family support system, because it considers the family to be the basic unit of society, the Minister of Justice said at a conference on the 110th anniversary of the Hungarian family support system in Budapest on Monday.
Judit Varga, speaking at the event organized by the Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation and the Lajos Batthyány Foundation, said that the appreciation of work cannot be separated from Hungarian family policy thinking, as the national conservative government does not base family support on welfare, but links it to work, the best example being the family tax allowance.
At the same time, it is important that families do not have children because it would provide money for the household, but vice versa: if someone wants to have children, there should be no financial obstacles, the minister stressed.
She added that
the government has therefore set up a very complex family support structure, which helps people to buy or renovate a home, buy a car for large families, and free textbooks for students.
Judit Varga also said that Europe is facing a huge demographic challenge, and Hungary’s response is to support families, the results of which are already visible, with the fertility rate rising from 1.2 in 2010 to 1.6 currently, the number of marriages doubling, and the number of divorces and abortions falling.
However, the global left does not see the solution to the problems in supporting families, but wants to counter the labor market and demographic challenges by importing foreign cultures, she said, adding that Hungary is concerned about this trend and does not expect it to be imposed on nations that disagree with this policy.
Attila Beneda, Deputy State Secretary for Family Affairs at the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, said that the government’s main objective is to ensure that the first child is born as early as possible, that there is a quality link between family and work, and that the annual net income of families having and raising children rises and their wealth improves.
He added that they also want to give women the freedom to choose between staying at home or going back to work.
This is being achieved through the development of daycares, with the proportion of municipalities with a daycare tripling compared to 2010, the childcare allowance, the social security exemption for women with four children, and the home creation allowance,” said Beneda.
He explained that in 2010, more than two thirds of family allowances were subject to the right of residence, meaning that anyone could receive family support regardless of their work status, but last year this trend was reversed, with more allowances now linked to work and insurance status. Through this, Hungarian family policy is also increasing the national total product, he said.
Via: MTI ; Featured photo: mti.hu