Draft law amending the Family Benefits Act and other laws (507 SE) – second reading
Session: 15th Riigikogu, 4th session, plenary session.
Date: 2024-11-14 03:57
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 72
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 50m
AI Summaries: 72/72 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
The Riigikogu discussed the draft law amending the Family Benefits Act and other laws, the second reading of bill 507. During the representative part of the session, member of the Social Affairs Committee Karmen Joller presented the bill. The draft is a complex bill, combining family benefits and health issues, and was considered in the context of 10 amendments: 4 from the Social Affairs Committee and 6 from the Isamaa faction, with the Isamaa proposals being rejected. Among the amendments adopted by the Social Affairs Committee were clarifications regarding consultation fees (including within limits in special cases), the continued free provision of consultations related to pregnancy and childbirth in accordance with the European Code of Social Security, and mechanisms for organising disability benefits, including tax benefits for sole proprietors. The second reading was placed on the Riigikogu agenda, and the third reading and final vote, scheduled for November 20th, were called for discussion. In addition, demographic concerns and the security of families were highlighted, shaping the perspective on balancing the measures discussed in the meeting, and it was recalled that the state budget is in a tense situation where certain benefits and consultation fees affect people's security and access to services.
Decisions Made 3
Decision by consensus: to place draft 507 for its second reading on the Riigikogu's plenary session agenda for its second reading and to continue the procedure according to the agenda.
Once the second reading is concluded, the draft will be placed on the agenda of the Riigikogu plenary session for a third reading (date set for November 20th of this year), and a final vote will be carried out after the procedural documents are signed; the result of concluding the second reading was recorded as 6 votes in favor and 2 votes against.
Final decision: the draft has been concluded for the second reading; subsequent proceedings will be directed to the third reading in accordance with the Riigikogu rules.
Most Active Speaker
The most active speaker is Priit Sibul (pid GdeZmpb9biU). The Isamaa faction, a far-right position. He presented and discussed several amendment proposals and led the voting phase regarding his faction's proposals. In the legislative position, Isamaa is typically on the right wing, which is reflected in his presence and language use in discussions.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Under the chairmanship of Vice-Chairman Arvo Aller, we move to the penultimate item on the agenda, where the second reading of Draft Bill 507, the Government-initiated Act on Amendments to the Family Benefits Act and other laws, will be considered; the presenter is Karmen Joller, a member of the Social Committee.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Karmen Joller thanked the chair of the meeting and her colleagues for a good meeting and gave a brief overview that the Social Committee took up for discussion on 5 November a draft bill that had a total of 10 proposed amendments (4 by the Social Committee and 6 by the Isamaa Party), of which the Isamaa proposals were rejected, and a number of amendments were adopted, including No. 2 the right to charge a visit fee even when the referral has been issued by a nurse; No. 3 exemption from visit fees for all visits related to pregnancy or childbirth, in accordance with the European Social Security Code; No. 9 provision that if sickness benefits are paid and a person’s income remains low and the employer can compensate it, this is exempt from social tax (also for sole proprietors); No. 10 was technical and changed the numbering; and the proposal to take the draft today for the second reading on the Riigikogu plenary agenda by consensus and to conduct the third reading and final vote on 20 November; the documents for the second reading were approved and the chair was given authority to sign the documents for the third reading.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair thanks the presenter and announces that there are questions, and invites Urmas Reinsalu to take the floor.
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Reinsalu expressed serious concern about the deepening of Estonia's demographic crisis and the fragility of families' sense of security, and asked whether the commission, with the help of demographers, has discussed what impact the measures and possible additional threatening steps would have on families' ability to cope, and thereby on the demographic situation, especially for families with young children.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Karmen Joller said that demographers were not involved in the session, but stressed that visits related to pregnancy and childbirth are all free of charge, and this part should not disrupt any family's sense of security.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
During the speech, there is a request to invite Lauri Laats onto the stage.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats criticized that this is an omnibus bill that bundles together a variety of topics, including the amounts of family benefits, extensions of application deadlines, and an increase in the fee for specialist visits, and asked why the committee had adopted such a junk document.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Karmen Joller explains that the consultation fee should be gradually raised to 20 euros, because prices and incomes have changed since 2014, and at the same time emphasizes the need to maintain a sense of security, to allow parents to work alongside caring for their child, and to increase employers' support by paying the wages lost during sick leave without social tax (also for individual entrepreneurs), which, in her view, is inevitable.
Aivar Kokk
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Aivar Kokk criticizes that the health budget has grown by leaps and bounds and that money is being used for tax relief for high-earning people, while pregnant women and mothers of small children have to pay 20 euros to see a doctor, and asks what good this will actually achieve.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The speaker invited Aivar Kokk to speak.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The speech emphasizes that it's your time.
Aivar Kokk
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Aivar Kokk highlights that going to the doctor is becoming increasingly expensive, and for parents of toddlers, to whom the Health Insurance Fund had guaranteed insurance for children aged 3 years or older, that guarantee is no longer in place, and he asks why this is not being discussed.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Karmen Joller notes that things will get better with a higher own contribution and an annual visit fee paid by the working person, which goes into the health service provider's budget, and she hopes that services will be improved in this way, but at the same time, taking budgetary pressure into account, changes in health insurance and restrictions for mothers will accompany — for example if a child is under 8 years old or if there are three children under 16 in the family.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
This speech is merely a plea to invite Riina Solman to perform.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Riina Solman asks whether pregnant women are exempt from the visit fee.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Karmen Joller says that there is nothing.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
They emphasize that there is actually something.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Karmen Joller simply answered: no.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Riina Solman said that this was added.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Karmen Joller answered affirmatively.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
There was no visa fee for children up to 2 years old and for pregnant women, but now a 5-euro visa fee also applies to them.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Unfortunately, the content of the given call is completely missing, so we cannot provide a reliable brief summary.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Riina Solman says that politics is the art of signals, and the current steps transmit a signal that a child is expected, but it comes with a new obligation that did not exist before, and that previously the state invited people to get pregnant and offered free health insurance.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
There is no visit fee related to pregnancy and childbirth; young children mainly go to the family doctor, referrals to specialists are very rare, and if referred, the visit fee is five euros once a year.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman invited Andrei Korobeiniku to speak.
Andrei Korobeinik
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Korobeinik notes that there is a war in Ukraine, but Estonia is in a recession, in the European Union in second place after Haiti, and he blames the Reform Party's policy; at the same time the visit fee is rising, and with it more money is generated for services, but doctors' salaries have not risen for four consecutive years—a paradox, which means the money does not reach the doctors.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
They said that each health care provider decides for itself how to use this money to provide the service more effectively, and there was no talk about doctors' salaries at the committee meeting.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairperson asks Vadim Belobrovtsev to take the floor.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
The speaker emphasizes the contradiction: although pregnant women should be visa-free, the explanatory note shows that expectant mothers pay a visa fee of 5 euros, and asks whether it’s 5 euros or free.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Karmen Joller said that the Commission proposed an amendment to bring the law in line with the European Code of Social Security, according to which no co-payment is charged for visits related to pregnancy and childbirth, and after the law comes into force this amount will be zero.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats said that this is an omnibus bill that combines family benefits and health care issues, and he asked whether the committee had paid attention and whether the ministry had been asked why such a bill has been brought forward when the topics are different.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman Hussar asks that Lauri Laats be invited onto the stage.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Karmen Joller thanks and says that it wasn't the topic.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman Lauri Hussar asked Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvarti to speak.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart emphasizes that the commission did not reflect the real positions of interest groups and notes that the Union of Pensioners’ Associations, the Home for People with Disabilities, and the Estonian Confederation of Trade Unions warn that the bill aims to save costs by raising the bed-day fee and by greater cost-sharing in health care, and emphasize that the interest groups are very critical of the bill.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Karmen Joller explains that to save on costs the copayment is being changed, and the reason is the Health Insurance Fund's tight budget; the per-diem bed fee has risen to 50 euros with a cap (previously 25 euros); outpatient visit fees are cheaper for certain groups, and if paying is difficult, help can be obtained from the social system, and people with disabilities and other groups have concessions.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Riina Solman asks how the Social Affairs Committee's changes will affect the visit fee for pregnant women and children up to two years old, since it was free at first, then a €5 fee was introduced, and now there is confusion about what exactly this new change means.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman Lauri Hussar invites Riina Solman to speak.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Karmen Joller said that the consultation fee applies only in the specialist medical system; visits in the family doctor system are free; for small children they often go to the family doctor and that is free; if the child needs to be referred further, the consultation fee is charged at a discounted price of 5 euros up to the age of 19; and visits related to childbirth and pregnancy are free in both the specialist and the family doctor systems — this is a very good amendment proposal and we have supported it.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair thanks the presenter, informs that there are no questions, opens negotiations, and gives the floor to Riina Solman.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Riina Solman criticizes a legislative amendment that terminates the payment of social tax for an insured non-working spouse or a registered partner for parents raising children, because it sends families the signal 'you have to manage on your own', exacerbates the demographic crisis and unequal burden, and should be replaced with other benefits – the cost is about 1.5 million – and attention should also be paid to the rise in healthcare charges from 2025 onward.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Speaker Lauri Hussar announced that three minutes of extra time would be added.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Riina Solman states that the draft would increase the visit fee and the prescription fee and would extend the deadlines for proceedings; she emphasizes that increasing the co-payment in healthcare increases inequality and poverty and should be reduced, not increased; and Isamaa proposes to suspend the second reading of Bill 507.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Now Lauri Laats steps up from the Riigikogu's speaker's chair.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats criticized the omnibus bill hastily drafted during the overnight session, whose family-model limitations may leave a parent raising a child at home without health insurance coverage, increase costs, and hinder low-income people's access to a doctor, and he stressed the need for thorough analysis and high-quality legislation.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman Lauri Hussar promised to give three extra minutes.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats believes that the state is hiding an economic downturn and blaming the war, while at the same time raising taxes and service prices, such as car tax and notary fees, which burden people and businesses.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair thanks and invites Priit Sibula to the podium.
Priit Sibul
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Priit Sibul said that in the form of the given draft bill he does not support it, because the savings fall mainly on the backs of regions and families, and it ignores demographic and social risks, which is why it is not clear for whose benefit this budget balance will ultimately come.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair, Lauri Hussar, announced the end of the negotiations and said that two identical amendment proposals had been submitted by the Isamaa and Centre Party factions to suspend the second reading of Bill 507, which will be reviewed before the vote; the first amendment is from the Isamaa faction, and the leading committee wishes it to be disregarded.
Priit Sibul
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
He asked to vote for the amendment proposed by the Isamaa faction.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair, Lauri Hussar, announces preparations for the vote, informs about the consideration of amendments to Bill No. 507, and puts to a vote Amendment No. 1 submitted by the Isamaa faction, regarding which the lead committee recommends disregarding it; please take a position and vote.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The proposal received 9 votes in favour and 43 against and did not receive support; the second and third amendment proposals have been submitted by the Social Committee, and the lead committee wishes to take them fully into account; the fourth amendment proposal is from the Isamaa faction, and the lead committee wishes to leave it unconsidered; Priit Sibul asked for the floor.
Priit Sibul
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Priit Sibul thanked and also asked that this amendment proposal be put to a vote.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair puts to a vote the Isamaa faction's fourth amendment proposal, which the steering committee wants to be disregarded.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar announced that the proposal received 9 votes in favor, 42 against and 1 abstention, and did not gain support; next the Isamaa faction's fifth amendment proposal will be submitted, for which the leading committee's position is to disregard it; Priit Sibul, please.
Priit Sibul
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Priit Sibul urged people to vote and to support the proposal.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair called on colleagues to proceed to a vote on the fifth amendment proposal submitted by the Isamaa faction, noting the lead committee's position to disregard it, and asking everyone to express their position and vote.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The proposal received 9 votes in favour, 42 against and 1 abstention and did not gain support; the Isamaa faction's sixth amendment proposal followed, which the leading committee wishes to disregard.
Priit Sibul
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
He/she also asks to vote on this amendment proposal.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair, Lauri Hussar, urged his colleagues to vote and submitted the Isamaa faction's sixth amendment proposal, which the steering committee wishes to disregard.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
In the Riigikogu there were 9 members in favor of the proposal, 43 against; the seventh amendment proposal was submitted by the Isamaa faction, and the leading committee recommended leaving it unconsidered.
Priit Sibul
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
He thanks you and asks you to vote in favor of this proposal.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair puts to a vote the seventh amendment proposal submitted by the Isamaa faction, regarding which the steering committee recommends disregarding, and asks the chamber to take a stand and vote.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Riigikogu voted: 9 in favour, 43 against, there were no abstentions; the proposal did not receive support; the eighth amendment proposal was submitted by the Isamaa faction, and the lead committee wishes to leave it unconsidered.
Priit Sibul
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Priit Sibul thanked and asked to vote for the eighth amendment proposal.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chair Hussar announced that the Isamaa faction's eighth amendment proposal would be put to a vote, but the steering committee recommended disregarding it, and asked members to take a stand and vote.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The rapporteur announced that the draft bill received 9 votes in favour, 44 against, and there were no abstentions, and therefore it did not gain support; the ninth amendment proposal from the Social Committee followed, along with the leading committee's position on its full consideration, and the tenth amendment proposal — Priit Sibul, please!
Priit Sibul
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Priit Sibul also asks you to vote for the ninth amendment proposal.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair announced the ninth amendment proposal, submitted by the Social Committee, for a vote, stressing that the lead committee's position must be fully taken into account, and urging members to take a stand and vote.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The motion received 42 votes in favour, 8 against, and there were no abstentions; two proposals from the Centre Party and Isamaa factions call for the interruption of the second reading of Bill 507, on which the Riigikogu is now to vote.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Riigikogu completed the second reading of Bill 507: 9 in favor, 44 against, there were no abstentions, and the proposal did not receive support.