Greek Parliament pushes personal‑assistant law for disabled citizens

Minister Domna Michailidou told the parliamentary Committee on Social Issues that the new bill aims to make social policy work in practice, not merely list needs. The draft legislation would make the Personal Assistant service a permanent state provision, introduce a National Disability Portal and expand the Disability Card to cover all beneficiaries. It also proposes training programmes for mobility and blindness instructors, targeting the roughly 17,000 citizens with severe vision loss.

On housing, the bill calls for the creation of social homes in unused military camps, fast‑track land‑use changes, income‑tax exemptions for owners who rent social‑housing units, and the extension of relocation programmes to additional regions through ministerial decree.

Opposition parties reacted with mixed views. PASOK’s Petrus Pappas said the party will back any measure that genuinely broadens rights but warned about universal implementation. The KKE’s Vibi Daga condemned the draft as a “sweeping, opportunistic bill,” arguing that disability protection should not be left to individual family responsibility. Other parties called for broader consultation and safeguards.