The Minister of Family Affairs, Youth and Social Policy, Vesna Bedekovic on Wednesday promised higher allowances for parents of children with disabilities as of next year, explaining that the draft legislation for status of parents-carers was in the pipeline.

Following a protest held by about 200 parents-carers in Zagreb earlier on Wednesday, the minister said that she agreed with the protesters’ statement that their monthly allowance of HRK 2,500 (€336) was low, however, she did not specify how much it could be raised.

The minister noted that this amount of the monthly allowance had not been changes since 2008.

We are making analyses and calculations and we are seeking the best possible solutions for all problems facing parents-carers, she said.

The minister said that the necessary legislation on improving the status of parents-carers should be adopted at the end of the first quarter of 2020.

Members of the “Sjena” association of families with children with developmental difficulties and persons with disabilities, who organised the protest rally on Wednesday, called on the minister Bedekovic to improve the status of parents-carers and carers of children with special needs, noting that they should be treated as employees with the right to a wage and sick leave. They called for their rights to be regulated by a law on parents-carers, to be adopted separately from the Social Welfare Act.