Vor genau vier Jahren hat die Volksanwaltschaft in einer „kollegialen Missstandsfeststellung“ das Familienministerium heftig kritisiert, weil es Jungfamilien jahrelang auf das Kinderbetreuungsgeld warten lässt. Die juristischen Argumente prallten an der Ministerialbürokratie ab, auch mehrere Höchstgerichtsurteile, die die Rechtsansicht der Volksanwaltschaft bestätigen, haben zu keiner Änderung geführt. Eine Mutter musste acht Jahre auf das Kinderbetreuungsgeld warten. „Aber Ministerin Susanne Raab hat offenbar ihre rechtswidrigen Anweisungen an die Behörden noch immer nicht geändert“, kritisiert Volksanwalt Bernhard Achitz. 

Immer noch regelmäßig Beschwerden bei der Volksanwaltschaft

„Was muss nach den OGH-Urteilen noch passieren, bis Raab endlich einlenkt und die Schikanen gegen Eltern einstellt?“, fragt Achitz: „Auch nach dem Höchstgerichtsurteil melden sich bei der Volksanwaltschaft verzweifelte Eltern, die jahrelang auf das Kinderbetreuungsgeld warten, weil das Familienministerium sie diverse in- und ausländische Behörden abklappern lässt, um irgendwelche Dokumente zu beschaffen, die es gar nicht gibt. Raab muss diese europarechtswidrige Praxis endlich abschaffen, bürgerinnenfreundlich vorgehen und das Kinderbetreuungsgeld rasch überweisen.“

Europarechtswidrig: Behörde wälzt Verpflichtungen auf Eltern ab

„Seit Jahren kritisieren die Volksanwaltschaft und auch die Arbeiterkammer die familienfeindliche und EU-rechtswidrige Vorgehensweise der Behörden, die auf Weisung der Frauenministerin Eltern massive Hürden in den Weg stellen. Die Pflicht der Behörden, mit Behörden anderer Länder herauszufinden, wer zuständig ist, wird auf die Eltern abgewälzt. Bürgerinnenfreundlich und nach EU-Recht geboten wäre, wenn die österreichischen Behörden das Kinderbetreuungsgeld an die in Österreich lebenden Familien vorläufig auszahlen und im Hintergrund regeln, wer zuständig ist. Trotz Höchstgerichtsurteil melden sich weiterhin Betroffene bei der Volksanwaltschaft, insgesamt bereits mehr als hundert. Eine Reform ist überfällig – sowohl bei der Vollziehung als auch auf gesetzlicher Ebene“, so Achitz.

Mehr zum OGH-Urteil

Härtefall-Klausel: Parlament hat auf Kritik der Volksanwaltschaft reagiert

„Auf einen anderen Kritikpunkt der Volksanwaltschaft hat das Parlament mit einer Gesetzesänderung reagiert: Eine Härtefall-Regel beim einkommensabhängigen Kinderbetreuungsgeld wurde im Oktober beschlossen“, so Volksanwalt Achitz. Anlass für die Kritik der Volksanwaltschaft war eine alleinerziehende Mutter, die nach dem plötzlichen Tod des Vaters kein Kinderbetreuungsgeld erhalten hatte. Denn die Härtefallverlängerung im KBGG sah zwar vor, dass ein Elternteil das Kinderbetreuungsgeld der Partnerin bzw. des Partners für maximal drei Monate weiter beziehen kann, wenn diese bzw. dieser verstirbt. Das galt bisher aber nicht für das einkommensabhängige Kinderbetreuungsgeld. Um nun alle Eltern in jenen Härtefällen, in denen ein Elternteil aus bestimmten, schwerwiegenden Gründen durch den Wegfall des gemeinsamen Haushalts mit dem Kind am Bezug des Kinderbetreuungsgeldes verhindert ist, zu unterstützen, unabhängig vom gewählten Kinderbetreuungsgeld-System, soll nun auch beim einkommensabhängigen Kinderbetreuungsgeld der Bezug verlängert werden – allerdings nur für maximal zwei Monate.

wo cases involving autistic children brought to the attention of the Office of the Ombudsman have been resolved.

The Commissioner for Education within the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman notes with satisfaction that two cases, both involving autistic children, which were recently brought to his attention have been satisfactorily resolved, at least for the present, by the Department for Education.

One complaint was brought to the Commissioner’s attention on the 24^th of January and was formally communicated to the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry responsible for education in terms of Article 18(1) of the Ombudsman Act on the 27^th. The other case was brought to the Commissioner’s attention on the 15^th of January and was being monitored by the Commissioner for Education, in agreement with the parent who filed the complaint, without formal communication under Article 18(1).

Both cases were resolved, at least for the present, last week through the swift intervention of the Director General, Educational Resources and the indefatigable work of the Commissioner for the Rights of Persons with Disability.

The Commissioner for Education has in the meantime and after consultation with the Ombudsman, as is required by law, initiated an ‘own initiative’ investigation regarding reports on the LSE waiting list and the length of the process of statementing. Meetings with stakeholders have commenced for objectively establishing the facts.

The Commissioner for Education reminds the stakeholders that the right to education is a fundamental human right, that children with learning problems deserve the best education that the State can provide both in line with domestic legislation and international obligations, and that the State has the duty to ensure that educators at all levels are adequately trained and fully competent to meet all the needs of the children entrusted to their care and to facilitate their development.

13.02.2024

Appuntamento il prossimo in Viale Aldo Moro 50 con un programma ricco di spunti per parlare delle potenzialità delle tecniche di tutela. L'iniziativa, promossa dal Difensore civico regionale in collaborazione con il Corecom, affronterà in due sessioni distinte prospettive e orizzonti di riforma della Difesa civica e i temi del pluralismo, indipendenza e garanzie per il cittadino. 

Apriranno i lavori la Presidente dell'Assemblea legislativa Emma Petitti e il Presidente della Commissione Parità Federico Amico.

•  Il programma completo (pdf, 1.3 MB)

Parliamentary Ombudsman Petri Jääskeläinen has issued a decision on a complaint concerning a person with paraplegia who had been transported without a wheelchair to a police prison, where the facilities were not accessible for the complainant who had reduced mobility. Among other things, the complainant had been forced to defecate at different sides of the cell while lying on their side.

The Ombudsman finds that the treatment of the complainant during detention violated the complainant’s human dignity and the rights guaranteed by the Finnish Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The Ombudsman has drawn the attention of the police department to deficiencies, such as the accessibility of facilities, and issued a reprimand to the police department for future reference on 

• procedures that violate the principle of respecting fundamental and human rights stipulated in the Police Act
• lack of access to the toilet
• having meals on the floor
• insufficient supervision 
• the refusal of reasonable accommodation

The Ombudsman has requested the National Police Board to obtain a report of each police prison on how the prisons have accommodated for people with disabilities and reduced mobility and prepared for arranging reasonable accommodation. He has asked the National Police Board to give a statement on the reports and to consider issuing instructions on these matters.

n addition, Jääskeläinen proposes that the National Police Board consider whether training on the rights of persons with disabilities should be organised for police personnel and whether related general guidance should be issued. 

The Ombudsman draws the serious attention of the National Police Board and the Ministry of the Interior to the deficiencies in the facilities and structures of the police prison in question. The facilities were meant to be temporary, but they have been in use for years.

The Ombudsman proposes that the State of Finland compensate the complainant for any violations committed against them. The Parliamentary Ombudsman has sent his decision to the State Treasury and requested it to decide on compensation.

The Ombudsman has requested the police department to report on its measures by 31 May 2024, and the National Police Board, the Ministry of the Interior and the State Treasury to report by 30 September 2024.

When processing the complaint, it was revealed that the complainant had been transported to the police prison on the floor of the back of a police vehicle. On the way, there were road sections with a speed limit of up to 100 km/h. The Ombudsman has taken up the investigation of the transport safety of police vehicles on his own initiative.

The full text of Parliamentary Ombudsman Petri Jääskeläinen’s decision no 151/2023 has been published (in Finnish) on the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s website at www.oikeusasiamies.fi. 

7 February 2024

Ombudsman Diana Kovacheva again sent a letter to the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Andrey Tsekov, the Minister of Energy Rumen Radev, the Minister of Finance Assen Vassilev and the Executive Director of the Sustainable Energy Development Agency Ivailo Aleksiev where she warns about a torrent of complaints and objections from associations of owners and municipalities provoked by the rejections of projects for free of charge rehabilitation of residential buildings.

People disagree with the results of the ranking of investment proposals under the procedure BG-RRP-4.023 “Support for sustainable energy renovation of the residential building stock – Stage I” for free of charge rehabilitation.

“Popular discontent is massive and touches on a wide range of problems – from the very design of the procedure and the way it was communicated to the implementation of each of the stages and the announcement of the rankings,” the Ombudsman wrote.

Prof. Diana Kovacheva insisted that she be provided with information about the findings of the checks so far, including checks of the energy efficiency certificates, about violations as reported by complaints and objections of the associations of owners and about the measures taken to enable the citizens’ fair participation in the procedure under Stage I.

The Ombudsman emphasized that absence of clarity on the questions that she had raised in her previous letter dated 11 January 2024 where she recommended that a public awareness campaign be launched to make clear, inter alia, the possibilities for citizens to get financing to make their buildings energy-efficient and for support for the inclusion of energy poor citizens into the process.

“It is necessary to make an analysis of the alternatives, including the possibilities for the redirection of finance flows from eligible sources in compliance with the criteria to ensure priority energy renovation of the residential buildings subject to the tool in the Decision to make it binding on the Council of Ministers to change the energy component of the national Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP). In particular, Item 4 of the Decision assigns to the Council of Minister through the agency of the Deputy Prime Minister for EU Funds Management, through the Central Coordination Unit and in keeping with Art. 21 of Regulation 2021/241 to reallocate all current savings from the implementation of RRP projects, including savings upon their completion and/or termination to “Green Bulgaria”, component 4. Low Carbon Economy, Project “Support for sustainable energy renovation of the residential building stock,” the Ombudsman wrote.

The Ombudsman insisted that information be provided about the real possibilities for the acquisition of other financial facilities for participation, subject to equal and non-discriminatory conditions, for the associations of owners who are on the reserve lists for Stage II, but who cannot afford the required 20% beneficiary’s self-financing and have already invested money for energy audits and technical passports.

“It was officially stated that effort should be made to restructure the resource under the REPowerEU Plan, so as to use it to increase funds under the rehabilitation program,” the Ombudsman wrote further.

In her letter, Prof. Diana Kovacheva again summarized the complaints reporting unfair allocation between regions in the country, between municipalities and between projects in individual municipalities, which leaves residential buildings that are most in need of energy renovation outside the scope of approved proposals.

The Ombudsman emphasized that the associations of owners object to the reliability of the energy audits and the non-exercise of control on the energy efficiency certificates as produced by the audits that in some cases were conducted by energy auditors who lacked sufficient competence, which is the reason for the erroneous conclusion about the existing condition of the buildings. The associations of owners point out that the energy audits rest on invalid input data and give a wrong percentage of the energy saving; drastic differences could be observed in the assessment of blocks of flats of one and the same type.

The Ombudsman added that the associations of owners warn about non-compliance with the purpose of the procedure and with the guidelines of application for the evaluation of projects by the municipalities: selection of projects for low-rise buildings with few occupants, in a relatively better energy condition; or partial projects that cover some of the space of blocks of flats; multiple increase by the municipal authorities (it is unclear why) of the cost estimate of the energy-saving measures in the energy efficiency report, that leads to a reduction of the points that measure the efficiency of the investment; selection as successful of projects for which no energy audits had been registered with the Sustainable Energy Development Agency (SEDA) as of 28 December 2023; non-issuance of award decisions that, as per the guidelines, are administrative acts that can be contested.

People are discontented with the public awareness campaign that suggests that all applicants would be approved as long as their proposals are within the limit set for the municipality, and that is not the case.

“The requests insist on the verification of the energy audit certificates, the revision of the lists of projects selected and the reimbursement of the costs of the owners’ applications given the misleading information campaign. They insist that the government provide an additional credit resource for the beneficiary’s self-financing in the next stage; they call for reconsideration of the burden of the percentage share of the owners who are members of an owners’ association,” the Ombudsman summarized.

In addition, Prof. Diana Kovacheva emphasized that local authority officials also brought their objections to her attention. A declaration on behalf on 14 municipalities from the EcoEnergy Municipal Energy Efficiency Network was submitted to the Ombudsman Institution. The municipalities are Berkovitsa, Bourgas, Gabrovo, Dobrich, Etropole, Kroushari, Kula, Kyustendil, Lom, Lyaskovets, Pavlikeni, Smolyan, Troyan and Yambol. The local authorities’ declaration insists on transparency and access to information about the ranking of each building in the country; on the provision of grant funding for all buildings that are on the reserve list; on the development of an active program with grant funding and opportunities for the extension of interest-free loans to citizens.

Some other municipalities likewise approached the Ombudsman, Prof. Diana Kovacheva: the Municipality of Bratsigovo, reported that all the three submitted project proposals remained on the reserve list and insisted that the selection be reconsidered and that additional funding be provided for these proposals with priority given to the selection of projects from rural communities.

The Municipality of Pleven challenged the decision on a specific proposal for a multi-family residential building (131, Drouzhba Residential Area), disagreed with the evaluation committee’s opinion and asked for verification and approval for financing.

The Municipality of Tsarevo categorically disagreed with the outcomes regarding 16 submitted proposals that remained on the reserve list and likewise insisted that the selection be reconsidered and that additional funding be provided.

In her letter, the Ombudsman underscored the need for further explanations and guidelines for application under Procedure BG-RRP-4.024 “Support for Sustainable Energy Renovation of the Residential Building Stock – Stage II”, item 12 “Beneficiary’s Self-Financing”.

“The complaints of the associations of owners furnish evidence of the municipal administrations’ ambiguous approach to the question as to at which point in time the 20% sum of self-financing by the end beneficiary should be made available and verified by a document: is this sum a condition to be met to apply in the procedure or can it be provided later, for instance after the approval of the applicant in question,” Diana Kovacheva emphasized.

She gave concrete examples: associations of owners from the Municipality of Pleven warned that upon the submission of the package for Stage II, they were required to present a certificate of a bank account that they had opened and that guarantees the availability of the 20% self-financing.

Another example is the associations of owners from the Municipality of Pazardjik who wrote to report that the municipal authorities put a requirement into the contractual agreement with the associations that the whole sum that makes up the 20% self-financing be guaranteed on the bank accounts of the associations by means of a bank statement to be presented in the municipality when the application for joining the program is lodged.

“The associations of owners of flats and outlets in a building at 54 Todor Alexandrov Street in Blagoevgrad reported that the Municipality of Blagoevgrad required that the sum of the 20% self-financing be available upon the submission of the papers for Stage II of the Program”. That is another similar example.

In her letter to the authorities in charge, the Ombudsman drew attention to yet another fact: it is not clear when the National Decarbonization Fund will start functioning in practice so as not to preclude the possibility to apply in Stage II of the procedure of citizens, especially citizens who cannot afford the 20% self-financing within the application deadlines set by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works (MRDPW).