By Plenary Sessions: Signe Riisalo

The political focus is on securing the future of vocational education for young people with special needs. The speaker expresses concern about the reduction in study places and curricula and emphasizes the need to maximally prepare this target group for the labor market. The position is policy- and solutions-based, focusing on the lack of a future vision from the Ministry of Education.

The politician strongly supports the bill that replaces the unemployment benefit with the basic rate of unemployment insurance, emphasizing that this will increase the number of recipients from 33% to 64% and improve the standing of people with special needs. His focus is policy-driven, centering on the funding of social services and supporting the return to the labor market. He stresses that the purpose of the benefits is to help those who have lost their jobs, not to provide income to those who have chosen not to work. He also considers it important to alleviate the resource shortage in the field of special care.

The speaker strongly supports Bill 519, which aims to replace the standard unemployment allowance with the basic rate of the unemployment insurance benefit, thereby making the system fairer and constitutionally compliant. This political stance is focused on expanding social protection (increasing coverage from 33% to 64%) and incentivizing working-age individuals to re-enter the labor market. He emphasizes that the bill specifically improves the income of vulnerable groups, such as those with reduced work capacity. The position is clearly policy- and results-driven, serving to defend the reform against opposition criticism.