Morawiecki: PLN 20 bln for 500+ is not excessive

The 500+ child benefit program is an investment in Poland's future and it will bring returns, said Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Tuesday, following media reports that he criticized the welfare program at a meeting with PiS voters in Bydgoszcz. Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza revealed that Morawiecki addressed the audience, saying that "the state needs more savings and investments rather than consumption." He also reminded "that 500+ is financed from credit." "We have indebted the state for an additional PLN 20 billion to promote fertility. We are among ourselves and we don't have to say only nice words," the deputy prime minister told PiS voters. In a commentary for state-owned agency PAP, Morawiecki said that his words "were totally wrong and falsely interpreted." "We haven't had doubts that this investment will bring returns and it is worth financing...500+ is the most important program, with a fundamental meaning for increasing the quality of Polish family lives," Morawiecki said. "PLN 20 billion is not an excessive cost for tackling the demographic crisis," he also added. The cost of the Family 500+ child program, under which the government hands out PLN 500 per month for every child in a family whose per capita income is lower than PLN 800 per month and for every second and subsequent child, is expected to stand at around PLN 16 billion in 2016 and PLN 22 billion in 2017.