Benefits alone will not solve Latvia's demographic problems

RIGA - The government is aware that benefits and allowances alone will not tackle Latvia's demographic problems, and there also have to be other measures to solve these problems, Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis (Greens/Farmers) told reporters after a meeting with President Raimonds Vejonis today.

The current discussions about the amount of child benefits are purely mathematical, the current system has to be altered so as to support all families with children, regardless of how many children there are in a family, said Kucinskis.

"We understand very well that stability is the first and main precondition for families to have children, and this stability lies in the economy and the labor market. People have to feel secure, so the main emphasis will be on the economic development. In the near future, I will organize a roundtable discussion with the Bank of Latvia and largest employees to discuss jobs and labor shortages," said Kucinskis.

As reported, the Welfare Ministry's latest proposal regarding support for large families is to not increase any child benefits but support families with three and more children with EUR 100 monthly starting next year, Welfare Minister Janis Reirs (Unity) told LETA.