The state should gradually invest almost €263 million in efforts to integrate socially vulnerable groups into society, according to the final report on the review of expenditures for groups at risk of poverty or social exclusion, prepared by the Value for Money Unit at the Ministry of Finance. The analysts argue that the exclusion of such groups is a waste of human potential and their inclusion must be seen as a returnable investment that will strengthen gross domestic product and public finances. Two thirds of the proposed expenditure is to be directed towards the education of children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds.
Investments in education at primary and secondary schools should aim at strengthening staffing capacities for the inclusion of such children. The state should spend €51.6 million on housing support and infrastructure for socially vulnerable people, and €28.7 million on employment and social policies. In the area of labor market and social policy, the report points out that labor offices do not sufficiently identify those unemployed who are disadvantaged. The weakest applicants are over-placed in community work that is ineffective. They also find it to be a problem that the integration of single parents into the labor market is hampered by the poor availability of nurseries and kindergartens.
