TEN PER cent of the population live in ‘relative’ poverty, officials admitted yesterday.
And while the number is well below European averages, the House Interior Committee yesterday urged the government to ensure a decent standard of living for all.
The Committee heard that about 7,000 people – around 10 per cent of the population – had an income that placed them below the ‘relative’ poverty line.
The European average stands at 18 per cent, and the EU has set targets to bring the figure down to 15 per cent by 2005 and 10 per cent by 2010.
Welfare Services director Roulla Theodorou told deputies there were two poverty lines, the ‘relative’ and the ‘absolute’ – which covered people having insufficient food, housing or basic human amenities.
She said there were no cases of absolute poverty in Cyprus, "at least not to the Services’ knowledge."
The relative poverty line, Theodorou said covered people who were unable to access various comforts the state believed all people should be entitled to enjoy. "This differs from country to country."
Theodorou said that under current criteria, people receiving less than £2,748 per year (half the per capita income) were deemed to be under the poverty line.
"Fifty to 60 per cent of these are elderly couples with, of whom 30 to 40 per cent receive pensions, while the others are made up of single parent families and families where the breadwinner was poorly educated, or in very few cases where people are unemployed."
EU standards operate on three levels of relative poverty: people receiving an income of 40 per cent of the per capita income, those receiving 50 per cent and those receiving 60 per cent.
Based on this framework, Cyprus’ most recent figures (1996 and 1997), showed that 4.7 per cent of the population received an income equivalent to 40 per cent of the per capita income or less, about a tenth of the population received 50 per cent and 14.2 per cent had 60 per cent.
She said Cyprus had no known cases of absolute poverty: "You’d have to live in a cave to fit into this category."
Theodorou said people received state help once an investigation had been carried out into their needs and any income they received, including the £116-118 minimum monthly pension.
She said a revised plan on social welfare was being drafted and would shortly be passed to the Attorney-general who would iron out legal details.
"It will definitely be finished by the end of the year," she said.
Deputies agreed that the figures on poverty were not as important as the people who themselves and that all those in need had to receive help.
Committee chairman Nicos Katsourides of Akel said many people were not aware of their entitlement to state help and should be informed.
