What Deputy Minister said to Corfu MP about Smile of the Child
Smile of the Child
21 Dec 2022
/ 10:39
CORFU. "The facility has until May to meet the necessary building specifications and then we΄ll discuss the matter again."
Corfu ND MP Stefanos Gikas met with the Deputy Minister for Employment and Social Welfare Domna Michalidou when the Housing Policy Bill was being discussed in parliament.
Mr. Gikas said that he updated the Deputy Minister on the situation regarding the reported change in use of the Smile of the Child facility in North Corfu which was announced by the charity organisation's president Mr. Yiannopoulos and which would mean that the children who are resident there will be transferred to other facilities off the island.
"I told the Deputy Minister that this has led to a wave of protests in the local community," said Mr. Gikas.
"The Deputy Minister said that the changes that need to happen, according to the law, for the improvement of children's living conditions in all such establishments in Greece must be completed by May 2023.
"If any such establishments (residential homes) haven't completed the work by then, the Ministry will look at individual cases and decide.
"In any case, said Ms. Michalidou, the Ministry's basic concern is that all these children's facilities should meet the basic necessary specifications to ensure proper living conditions for the children, especially as the protection of vulnerable minors has become a matter of concern in recent months."
Mr. Gikas said that he updated the Deputy Minister on the situation regarding the reported change in use of the Smile of the Child facility in North Corfu which was announced by the charity organisation's president Mr. Yiannopoulos and which would mean that the children who are resident there will be transferred to other facilities off the island.
"I told the Deputy Minister that this has led to a wave of protests in the local community," said Mr. Gikas.
"The Deputy Minister said that the changes that need to happen, according to the law, for the improvement of children's living conditions in all such establishments in Greece must be completed by May 2023.
"If any such establishments (residential homes) haven't completed the work by then, the Ministry will look at individual cases and decide.
"In any case, said Ms. Michalidou, the Ministry's basic concern is that all these children's facilities should meet the basic necessary specifications to ensure proper living conditions for the children, especially as the protection of vulnerable minors has become a matter of concern in recent months."
