Newsroom
Disability benefits in Cyprus are set to go up for the first time in years after the government announced plans for across-the-board increases for both existing and new beneficiaries.
The announcement came on Monday after a meeting at the Presidential Palace between President Nikos Christodoulides and groups representing people with disabilities, patients, and older citizens.
The planned changes mean that increases will apply to everyone who qualifies, regardless of income. The government is expected to announce the exact amounts soon, after the proposal is approved by the Council of Ministers.
Disability group representatives said they were told a new law is on the way, which will include the increases and expand who can receive support.
One of the key changes is that people who were previously excluded because they did not meet income rules, under the minimum guaranteed income system, will now be included again.
These include people with serious disabilities, autism, multiple sclerosis, chronic illnesses, kidney patients on dialysis, and thalassemia patients.
Until now, many of these people only received support if their household income was below a certain level.
Officials said that for around 20 years, most disability payments had not increased at all.
“We were told we will finally see increases after two decades of nothing,” one representative said after the meeting.
Patient groups also said that benefits that previously had no legal provision for increases will now also be covered by the new plan.
All three organizations described the meeting with the president as positive, saying they will continue working with the government on the details in the coming months.
Elderly representatives also raised concerns about long-term care, elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation, especially on a day marking awareness of elder abuse.
A major issue discussed was informal carers, often family members who stop working to look after relatives at home. They said these people carry a heavy burden with very little support.
Officials warned that if families stopped providing care, the state system would struggle to cope.
While the groups welcomed the planned increases, they also said Cyprus still ranks very low in Europe when it comes to disability support.
They said the system needs to move towards more personalized support, because not all disabilities are the same and needs differ from person to person.
Despite concerns that the changes may not go far enough, the groups said they left the meeting feeling that real progress is finally being made after years of delays, and another meeting is already planned for the autumn.
