Draft bill rejected for over 550 daycare centers in Romania

The MPs of the ruling parties Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) have rejected a legislative proposal that would have obliged the Romanian Government to allot EUR 175 million for building 554 daycare centers in four years, starting 2017, reports local Profit.ro. The Chamber of Deputies’ plenum rejected the draft bill on Wednesday, although the Senate adopted it in June last year. The PSD-UNPR majority supported the draft bill in the previous Parliament. The opposition said the governing coalition’s attitude is purely electoral, as it has supported certain projects before the elections, but now, when it runs the Government, it is forced to reject some of them on lack of funds. The daycare centers should have been built in every city with over 10,000 inhabitants. One such center would have required around RON 1.4 million (EUR 310,000). At least one daycare center should have been built in cities with 10,000 – 15,000 inhabitants, at least three such centers in localities with 30,000 – 50,000 inhabitants, minimum six centers in cities with 100,000 – 130,000 inhabitants, and at least 10 daycare centers in cities with 280,000 – 360,000 people. Some 60 such centers should have been built in Bucharest. Romania passed last year legislation supporting the increase in birth rate, which has been plummeting in recent years. It approved the increase in length and value of the maternity benefits to two years and 85% of the income before birth. Daycare centers would have supported the projected birth rate increase. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com