From Office of the Ombudsman 

Published on 11 October 2024

Last updated on 11 October 2024

The Ombudsman, Ger Deering, was recently interviewed by Ronan Berry on Midlands 103. He explained the role of the office and how members of the public can get in touch. You can listen back to the interview below.

In einer Pressemitteilung hat der Thüringer Bürgerbeauftragte am 9.10.2024 dringend Entscheidungen zur Übergangsregelung für sogenannte Nachbarschaftshelfer angemahnt: 

„Die Betroffenen brauchen Klarheit“
Thüringer Bürgerbeauftragter fordert dringend eine Entscheidung zur Übergangsregelung für sogenannte Nachbarschaftshelfer

Dr. Kurt Herzberg, Bürgerbeauftragter des Freistaats Thüringen, fordert von der Landesregierung dringend belastbare Informationen zu einer eventuellen Verlängerung der Übergangsfrist für Nachbarschaftshelfer über den 31.12.2024 hinaus.

Herzberg wörtlich: „Die Betroffenen – die Pflegebedürftigen und die Helfenden – brauchen Klarheit. Die Unsicherheiten, Nachfragen und die immer neu auftretenden Probleme können nur durch transparente Information ausgeräumt werden. Schon jetzt ist ganz offensichtlich, dass sehr viele Nachbarschaftshelfer wegfallen, wenn die derzeitige Übergangsregelung nicht verlängert wird. Ich weiß, dass eine Verlängerung der aktuell unbürokratischen Regelung von der Landesregierung erwogen wird. Man sollte nun auch sehr zeitnah darüber informieren, damit die Betroffenen nicht von den Pflegekassen falsch oder abweisend informiert werden.“

Der Bürgerbeauftragten hält die Inanspruchnahme des Entlastungsbetrags der Pflegeversicherung auch durch Nachbarschaftshelfer für einen wichtigen Beitrag, damit pflegebedürftige Menschen möglichst lange in ihrem gewohnten Umfeld leben können.

Herzberg: „Der Entlastungsbeitrag von 125 EUR monatlich hilft sehr, die Alltagsunterstützung im sozialen Nahfeld zu organisieren. Es ist für viele eine wichtige Hilfe. Sie bleibt aber nutzlos, wenn sie niemand kennt oder wenn sie bürokratisch aufgeladen wird.“

Zum Hintergrund:                                                                                         
Seit dem 01.04.2023 können zwar auch in Thüringen Pflegebedürftige in häuslicher Pflege den ihnen zustehenden Entlastungsbetrag nach § 45 b SGB XI in Höhe von monatlich bis zu 125 € für Unterstützung ausgeben, die von sog. Nachbarschaftshelfern geleistet wird. Allerdings müssen sich die Nachbarschaftshelfer hierfür vorher registrieren und einen bestimmten Pflegekurs absolvieren. Da die Krankenkassen diese Pflegekurse zunächst nicht anbieten konnten, wurde eine Übergangsregelung geschaffen: Danach kann ein Nachbarschaftshelfer nach Registrierung zwar bereits tätig werden, muss den Pflegekurs allerdings bis 31.12. 2024 nachholen. Diese Übergangsregelung soll nun bis zum Jahresende 2025 verlängert werden.

Il Difensore civico di Trento Morandi si è recata, nelle giornate del 2 e 3 ottobre, a Dobbiaco per l’avvio della seconda edizione del progetto FIT4CO.

L’iniziativa “FIT4CO” Fit for Cooperation dei due GECT Euregio Tirolo-Alto Adige – Trentino ed

Euregio Senza Confini persegue lo scopo di rafforzare l’integrazione transfrontaliera nonché di radicare le tematiche transfrontaliere nell’approccio e nel mainstream regionale, preparando collaboratrici e collaboratori di istituzioni pubbliche e di altri steakholders dei rispettivi territori alla collaborazione transfrontaliera per metterli in condizione di comprenderne i benefici e di utilizzarne direttamente gli strumenti.

All’evento di apertura della seconda edizione del progetto, sono state presentate 19 iniziative di

collaborazione transfrontaliera. Il Difensore civico di Trento partecipa al tandem n. 9 “Rappresentanza dei pazienti – Patientenvertretung”, insieme al Difensore civico della Provincia autonoma di Bolzano, Veronika Meyer, ed al Garante dei pazienti del Tirolo, Birger Rudisch.

Nell’ambito dei lavori le tre figure di garanzia hanno approfondito e condiviso aspetti comuni ai tre

territori legati alla sanità, alla tutela dei pazienti e all’assistenza transfrontaliera.

L’obiettivo finale del progetto ipotizzato è quello di favorire una maggiore cooperazione tra enti ed

organizzazioni attive nell’ambito della sanità nei territori Euregio, nonché una maggiore informazione in merito all’assistenza sanitaria transfrontaliera, con la raccolta di dati su base regionale, e alla possibile tutela dei pazienti, anche stranieri, presenti sui rispettivi territori.​​​​​​

News and events of the Ombudsman’s Office in September 2024 (information in links mostly available in Latvian).

Ombudsman invites to participate in a survey on cases of sexual harassment in higher education institutions

At the beginning of this year, the cases of sexual harassment publicly reported in several Latvian universities and the public’s response to them have made it necessary to study the topic in depth. Therefore, the Ombudsman, in cooperation with the research centre Berg Research and the Student Union of Latvia, is conducting an extensive survey with the aim of identifying and understanding the experience of sexual harassment in higher education institutions. Replies can be submitted electronically until 14 October on ej.uz/Tiesibsarga_aptauja

Research reveals a variety of trends: attitude towards people with disabilities is improving

The public’s attitude and understanding of the needs of people with disabilities has improved, as confirmed by two studies commissioned by the Ombudsman this year. One of them, however, shows a worrying trend: people with disabilities have indicated a significant decline in their willingness to fight for their rights.

The Ombudsman replies: Can a school ban students from speaking a foreign language among them on breaks?

A school has provided in its Internal Rules that during breaks pupils may only communicate with each other in official state language – Latvian. Is such a rule justified and lawful? Short answer:  No, an educational institution is not allowed to rule this. The Official Language Law stipulates that it does not apply to the use of the language in unofficial communication, so during breaks at school children are allowed to speak in a language that is convenient to them, including a foreign language.

Lower electricity bills must be provided to all those indicated by the state

The Ombudsman found that protected electricity customers cannot receive support if the houseowner, manager, etc. has chosen a trader that does not provide this service for the protected customer. More than 160 thousand protected users are currently registered in Latvia, but more than 50 thousand do not actually receive the service. The Ombudsman has requested the Cabinet of Ministers to resolve the situation by 1 March 2025.

Vaccination: Rights and Duties of a Child, a Parent and a Doctor

The Ombudsman invites everyone to be responsible for one’s own health and that of one’s children, to be in close cooperation with general practitioners and to listen to their advice! By vaccinating those who can get vaccinated, we protect those who don’t have this opportunity due to objective reasons.

On 04/10/2024, The Committee on Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Disability of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia and the Committee on Education, Science and Youth considered parts of the 29th annual report of the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia (Ombudsman) pertaining to their jurisdictions.

In the field of pension and disability insurance, the Ombudsman considered multiple cases where individuals received a decision from the Pension and Disability Insurance Institute of the Republic of Slovenia that they are capable of work, while the Employment Service of Slovenia issued decisions to the same persons stating they were incapable of work. “In light of the considered complaints and the identified legislative incompatibilities, we recommend the Government to standardise and adjust the definition of disability as per the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in all rules and regulations and ensure its conformity with the Convention and the Constitution. We recommend that the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (MDDSZ) overhaul its system for determining disability and introduce a single body for determining disability and, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, amend stipulations in public regulation which put persons with mental health disabilities in an unfavourable position compared to other persons with disabilities with comparable limitations,” emphasised Peter Svetina.

In education, the institution of the Ombudsman devoted much time last year to the announced reform of the school system. “We estimate that the curricula for primary and secondary schools are too extensive and require too much factual learning of details from pupils and students and too many different contents that can be accessed online with one click nowadays. A concrete shift towards less static and more movement-oriented education is also needed,” the Ombudsman elaborated to the present members of the Assembly. ​

He followed this up by stating that he is worried that one-third of the members from the workgroup for the preparation of a national educational programme for the next decade quit the working group, as their arguments and views had been disregarded by the competent personae at the ministry as they already have all the solutions supposedly ready in advance. “Unfortunately, the state is late with the adoption of the national programme for the 2023-2033 period; thus, I am concerned that, once again, there will not be enough time to meet the deadlines set for its implementation,” said Ombudsman Svetina.

Within the framework of the aforementioned education reform, the Ombudsman draws attention to the acute need to find an appropriate solution to the spatial overload of elementary schools with an adapted programme. “We have been informed multiple times about the major overcrowding issues that the Janez Levec Center Ljubljana (CJV), Helena Puhar Kranj Primary School, and some others have. The Ombudsman advocates the introduction of inclusive education, which, as a right, derives from Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and we are still very far from that in Slovenia,” Svetina stated.

He added that he noted how we are too often witnesses of a lack of cooperation and coordination between the ministries in our state. Shifting responsibility from one ministry to another should be unacceptable for government representatives. “We must understand that social rights in the purview of both committees are not a privilege but are equal to all other human rights; thus, the state must adequately exercise them. I wish that people be at the heart of the reforms and that decision-makers find solutions in dialogue with key stakeholders that leave no one behind,” the Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina emphasised at the presentation.