A proposed bill, promising to offer relief to people with disabilities, was presented on Tuesday at the House labour committee and, following an open discussion over coming weeks, will be put to the vote.

Deputy Welfare Minister Marilena Evangelou said the bill was in its final stages of preparations, and had been drawn up with the help of the Cyprus Confederation of Organisations for the Disabled (Kysoa).

The new legislation will provide for a consultant to help disabled people make decisions, a trainer to help them join the workforce, a personal work assistant to accompany disabled people at work, a professional for integration into the labour market, a social assistant to help with services, banks and other areas of social integration, a sign language interpreter for the hearing-impaired and an assisted living facility service programme provider for people who are at risk of social exclusion or institutionalisation.

Speaking after the labour committee meeting, Evangelou said she also informed the MPs about the reforms on the way separating disability benefits from the minimum guaranteed income (GSI).

This reform, she said, would greatly benefit people with disabilities and had been a long-standing demand which would be implemented through the new legislation.

Evangelou added that yet another innovation to be implemented through the new legislation was that disabled people would be able to choose their carers, who did not necessarily have to be members of their family they were now dependent on.