Help for single-parent families, which was launched at the beginning of February by the Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Family Erik Tomáš (Hlas-SD), cannot respond to the real needs of working single parents and is missing the point. This is claimed by the opposition member of the National Council (NR) of the SR Veronika Šrobová (PS). The Department of Labor disagrees with her criticism. According to him, the project is a systemic solution that is of high interest.
- According to the opposition, aid to single parents launched by Minister Erik Tomáš is failing in practice.
- Veronika Šrobová claims that meetings during working hours are a condition of the contribution.
- Šrobová points out that the aid will reach only a tiny percentage of the 190,000 single parents.
- Progressive Slovakia promotes a housing allowance and massive construction of apartments.
- The Ministry of Labor claims that more than 5,000 single parents in Slovakia are interested in the project.
“I receive suggestions from single parents from all over Slovakia. They point out that the financial contribution is conditional on their regular participation in time-consuming meetings. They must also be completed during normal working hours. For many, this means taking a vacation, losing income, or risking problems at work. It is a system completely detached from the everyday reality of single parents“, Šrobová declared on Tuesday.
According to her, instead of reducing the burden, parents face stress, “paperwork” and other complications. “Although the Ministry has found a way to use funds from the European Union, there are roughly 190,000 single-parent households in Slovakia, and the aid set up in this way will only touch a tiny percentage of them,” thinks the opposition MP.
According to her, single parents primarily need systemic and affordable solutions. “In Progressive Slovakia, we are promoting, for example, the introduction of a housing allowance or a clear definition of a single-parent household. And we also want to solve the cost of living crisis, which often affects single-parent households as well. We start with housing and a plan to launch a massive housing development” added Šrobová.
„We regret that opposition politicians are again criticizing concrete aid without offering a real solution that would help people. There is an extraordinary interest in the project ‘Support for single parents’, more than 5,000 single parents have already participated in it,” the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (MPSVR) of the Slovak Republic said in response.
It emphasized that the department prepared it in cooperation with those directly affected by the issue, i.e. with the associations Jeden Rodič, MyMamy and Centrum Slniečko. He considers it a systemic solution that connects financial assistance with professional advice.
„Single parents involved in the project can also apply for a so-called incentive contribution based on the number of children in the amount of 100 to 200 euros. One of the other measures that was adopted for single parents and applies from January 1, 2026, is the extension of the period of accompanying the child to the doctor from 7 to 14 days. At the same time, as Minister of Labor Erik Tomáš recently informed, the amendment to the Family Act will increase the minimum amount of child support“, added the department.
