By Months: Tõnis Lukas
Total Months: 19
Fully Profiled: 19
10.2025
1 Speeches
The legislative focus is currently on processing the state budget and the State Budget Strategy (RES). The priority is securing funding for teachers' salary increases and a new career model, which is scheduled to take effect starting in early 2026. The speaker operates primarily in the role of an auditor and questioner.
09.2025
10 Speeches
The legislative focus is on initiating bills to amend the Language Act and the Public Transport Act, in order to modernize language requirements for temporary and platform workers. The speaker is taking on the role of the initiator because the government has long delayed submitting the promised bill.
06.2025
47 Speeches
The speaker, on behalf of the Isamaa faction, initiated the draft bill for the Song and Dance Celebration Act, the goal of which is securing the tradition and guaranteeing its funding. Furthermore, he/she is an active supporter and critic during the deliberation of the Research and Development Organisation Act and the Teachers’ Career Model Act, demanding stronger state guarantees within these frameworks. He/She is awaiting the government’s draft Language Act, while criticizing the delay in its submission.
05.2025
11 Speeches
The speaker is actively involved in legislative oversight, raising questions about the draft bill concerning the Riigikogu's approval of major investments, and demanding that amendments to the Language Act be brought before the Riigikogu. They are also the initiator of the discussion regarding the creation of a compensation mechanism for the owners of natural sacred sites. Furthermore, the speaker criticizes the Ministry of Education's draft regulations (for instance, those concerning the start time of the school day) as unnecessary bureaucracy.
04.2025
4 Speeches
The main legislative priority is the initiation of the Song and Dance Celebration Act by the Isamaa faction. This is a comprehensive draft bill designed to secure the pyramid of tradition (e.g., incorporating choir singing into the curriculum, providing salary subsidies for ensemble leaders). Additionally, they are actively scrutinizing the legal and financial issues surrounding the education reform via an official interpellation.
03.2025
20 Speeches
The speaker is the initiator of the bill to formalize the tradition of the Song and Dance Festival on behalf of the Isamaa faction, stressing that this law should have been adopted decades ago. He/She actively monitors and criticizes the Language Act currently being prepared by the Ministry of Education and Research, demanding the extension of language requirements to new sectors of activity.
02.2025
16 Speeches
The primary legislative priorities are restricting suffrage in local elections to realize the will of the popular majority, and advancing the necessary legislation (PGÜS) required to implement the education agreement. He is in a supportive role regarding the law on defense spending and the financing of research and development institutions, but insists on clarifying the details.
01.2025
5 Speeches
The legislative focus is on the critical monitoring and obstruction of government initiatives, as demonstrated by the parliamentary query regarding the merger of schools for students with special educational needs. Attention is also being paid to clarifying the objectives of the Ministry of the Interior's draft legislation concerning migration, in order to prevent the importation of cheap labor.
12.2024
10 Speeches
The primary legislative priorities are amendments to the Education Act (establishing a learning obligation and vocational education reform), along with the Pre-Primary Education Act. The speaker is critical of the Education Act's passage due to insufficient funding and, representing the Isamaa faction, proposed an amendment allowing children to be grouped according to their linguistic preparation. They also deem it imperative to legalize the withdrawal of voting rights from citizens of aggressive nations.
11.2024
26 Speeches
The main legislative priorities are amendments to the state budget aimed at raising teachers' salaries by 5% and allocating the necessary funds for the dignified celebration of the Year of the Estonian Book. He/She is critical of the overly detailed nature of the Sports Act but supports the completion of the bill's first reading. Furthermore, he/she initiated a bill through the Cultural Committee concerning the Academy of Sciences.
10.2024
12 Speeches
The speaker is predominantly an opponent of the government’s policy, standing against the raising of immigration quotas and the outsourcing of Tartu prison. He demands the fulfillment of the coalition agreement regarding the increase in teachers' salaries and the systematic monitoring of regional policy. He is also concerned about the impact that draft legislation (such as the Public Libraries Act) will have on regional employment.
09.2024
9 Speeches
The legislative focus centers on overseeing the government's activities, specifically by submitting an interpellation regarding the failure of e-tests and demanding accountability and solutions. Furthermore, it addresses draft decisions concerning the governance of cultural institutions, including the submission, on behalf of the Cultural Committee, of a draft resolution for the recall of a member of the National Opera's council.
07.2024
13 Speeches
The legislative focus centers on opposing the proposed motor vehicle tax law and highlighting its potential consequences, demanding that it not be adopted. Furthermore, the government’s intentions regarding the dismantling of the funding structure of the Cultural Endowment (Kultuurkapital) and the streamlining of the school network are under scrutiny. Regarding educational issues, the continuation of financing agreements for higher education institutions remains the priority.
06.2024
5 Speeches
The speaker focuses on supporting the Riigikogu's foreign policy statements (regarding Georgia) and monitoring the progress of major defense sector initiatives (ammunition stockpiling). In education policy, their focus is on the action plan for the transition to Estonian-language instruction and monitoring its implementation, particularly in the context of the draft Basic Education Act.
05.2024
23 Speeches
The main legislative priority is the amendments to the Language Act proposed by Isamaa, whose aim is to close legal loopholes in the service sector and platform work, and establish Estonian language requirements for the official business of state institutions. He is an active supporter of finding funding for teachers' salary increases in the supplementary budget and participates in discussions on the draft law concerning early childhood education. He criticizes the government for delaying important draft laws (the Language Act), preferring the quick closing of legal loopholes over long-term analysis.
04.2024
23 Speeches
The legislative focus is directed towards amending the legal acts governing the formation of the school network to ensure a longer planning period (17 months instead of the current five months) when restructuring schools. Also prioritized is changing the coefficient of rurality used in the equalization fund and securing state funding for small schools for at least three years. The speaker is an active initiator and proponent of the Riigikogu Draft Resolution (OE), criticizing the stalling of the bill in the Riigikogu committees.
03.2024
19 Speeches
The main legislative priorities are improving teachers' working conditions (career model, salary increase) and strengthening the role of the Estonian language (amendments to the Language Act and the Public Transport Act). The speaker is the submitter of the draft resolution and the bill initiated by the Isamaa faction. He/She also supports amendments to the Cultural Endowment Act concerning the financing of the ERR building and social guarantees for creators.
02.2024
13 Speeches
The legislative focus is currently directed towards obligating the government regarding the issue of teachers' salaries, achieved by submitting a draft resolution that demands the promised salary increase and the development of a career model by May 1st. Furthermore, the draft car tax bill has been actively opposed, and questions have been raised concerning the long-term consequences of using Cultural Endowment funds (specifically for the construction of the ERR building).
01.2024
17 Speeches
The legislative focus is currently on submitting a draft Riigikogu decision that would mandate the government to take measures to prevent teacher strikes and develop a system of legislation aimed at supporting rural schools in sparsely populated regions. They also demand the accelerated processing of the draft law concerning the organization of research, development, and innovation. He has supported the principle of providing a starting grant for teachers.