By Months: Signe Riisalo

The legislative focus is on the draft Act amending the Social Welfare Act and other related legislation. Priorities include raising the subsistence benefit level, updating the methodology for calculating the living minimum, clarifying the procedure for granting support to pensioners living alone, and ensuring stable funding for sign language interpretation services. The speaker is a representative and strong supporter of the leading committee responsible for the bill.

The legislative focus centers on opposition to the current family benefits bill, which is deemed unsuitable because it is overly costly and fails to address the concerns of other families. The priority is the development of a comprehensive action plan by 2026 that would take into account all seven family concerns, alongside considering, as an alternative, the indexation of child benefits or the compensation of maintenance costs.

The legislative focus was on the deliberation of the advance directive bill, the second reading of which was completed and the third reading scheduled. I supported the proposal submitted by the Reform Party faction to reject the draft bill amending the Public Health Act on procedural grounds. I also introduced a technical amendment to the implementing provisions of the work ability allowance to ensure better protection for people with reduced work ability.

The main legislative focus is the rapid processing and adoption of Bill 519, which brings the payment of the work ability allowance into compliance with the constitution. Additionally, emphasis is placed on future draft laws aimed at simplifying the determination of the subsistence benefit and amending the Social Benefits for Disabled Persons Act concerning 16–17-year-old youth.

Legislative focus is currently centered on the processing of two draft bills: the accession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and an amendment to the Health Services Organisation Act concerning advance directives (end-of-life declarations of will). The speaker is a representative of the lead committee, who guides the bills through readings, making proposals for their finalization and the submission of amendments. They emphasize the need to continue proposing amendments and to involve additional target groups in the discussion.