Minister of Labor, Pension System and Social Policy Marin Piletić is leaving the government after the Administrative Court today ruled in the first instance that heirs are entitled to the payment of an inclusive allowance for their loved ones who died before they received a decision on this, it was announced today in Zagreb.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who is also the president of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), said that Piletić is leaving because he is "somewhat exhausted with all the activities in his department for some time now" and that the reason for this is not the Administrative Court's decision.
The current director of KBC Rijeka, Alen Ružić, will take over the position of minister.
"We have agreed that Mr. Piletić, after almost four years in government, will return to Parliament, and that Alen Ružić will take his place with new energy and knowledge," Plenković told reporters in Zagreb after a party leadership meeting.
Piletić has been under harsh criticism for months from part of the public and the opposition, who accuse him of negligence and insensitivity towards the weakest in society, because it has been shown that in a large number of cases the 15-day deadline for issuing decisions on inclusive allowances for the seriously ill was not respected, which is why thousands of requests have remained unresolved.
More than 15.000 procedures have been suspended because the applicants, including numerous oncology patients, have died in the meantime.
The Administrative Court today announced a first-instance ruling according to which heirs will be entitled to payment of the deceased person's inclusive allowance, if it is determined that the person was entitled to it.
The ruling orders the social welfare system to continue the process, regardless of the applicant's death. If the decision becomes final, the state will be obliged to pay the heirs the amount from the date of the application until the applicant's death.
Piletić's mandate was also marked by the decision of the Constitutional Court, which at the end of last year, upon a request for a constitutional review, abolished the "discriminatory and restrictive" provisions of the Personal Assistance Act, related to restrictions on the exercise of the right to a personal assistant.
The largest opposition Social Democratic Party welcomed the Administrative Court's decision today, calling it "a major victory for beneficiaries in the social welfare system."
"This is something that will provide additional protection for the most vulnerable, but this should not have happened if the government had acted as it should have, which is to create laws that would protect the most vulnerable in society," said Martina Vlašić Iljkić from the SDP, as reported by Croatian Radio and Television.
The Sjena Association, which deals with the protection of families of children with developmental disabilities and people with disabilities, announced that the Administrative Court's ruling exposed the extent of the dysfunction of the social protection system, assessing that the responsibility lies with the relevant ministry and minister.
The statement states that citizens submitted applications for the inclusive allowance on time, but that they waited for solutions for months, often years.
"The system under their jurisdiction has led to the fact that rights are measured by waiting time, not by law, and that the death of a beneficiary becomes an administrative way out of unresolved procedures," the association pointed out.
The association emphasized that the burden of the system's malfunctioning must not fall on the backs of families that have already lost a member, and that the state "must not turn administrative omissions into budget savings."
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