Holeckova: 1 Mn Slovaks Live on Threshold of Poverty, Gov't Has Done Nothing

Bratislava, October 17 (TASR) - About one million of Slovaks [out of the population of 5.5 million] are endangered by poverty according to the Statistics Office, particularly single-parent households and households with multiple parents, yet the Government has come up with absolutely no measures to help these groups out of dire straits, MP Martina Holeckova (Independent) declared on Thursday to mark the International Day to Eradicate Poverty. "Single-parent households and families with multiple children, those are the groups most endangered by poverty and that's why the Government should have addressed their situation since its first day in power. Over the entire year of its existence, however, the Government has done nothing for them, only worsened their lives. The Cabinet of Robert Fico (Smer-SD) was promising that it wouldn't scrap any social measures, but the reality is that Robert Fico has once again lied to all people in Slovakia," added Holeckova. The lawmaker pointed out to cuts and slashes done to the children tax bonus, due to hit the single-parent households and families with multiple children the hardest. "The Government is raising taxes and the bill will be footed once again by the poorest. And this is all happening at the time when about one million people in Slovakia are endangered by poverty," warned Holeckova. mf