City council fumes

Social welfare expenditure for non-Austrians on the rise

While the number of welfare recipients with an Austrian passport has actually fallen, payments to third-country nationals have risen by almost EUR 100,000.

(Bild: MaRu)

Even though Upper Austria is known to have the strictest requirements for the payment of social welfare, the latest figures from the Linz Social Welfare Committee have set alarm bells ringing for FP City Councillor for Health Michael Raml: "We must not become a second Vienna under any circumstances."

Once again, everyone is talking about social welfare. It was only on Thursday, during the last appearance of ÖVP state councillor Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer in the Upper Austrian state parliament, that "Green MP Ines Vukajlović accused him of saying that the ÖVP and FPÖ had made social welfare less flexible. Recently, there has been repeated criticism of the restrictive measures, which are seen as particularly disadvantageous for families and people with a migrant background.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Stock Adobe)

"The SPÖ's fairy tale"
Issues such as the so-called "capping" (maximum payment for households) and stricter criteria for immigrants are not uncontroversial. And although our federal state is known to have the strictest requirements for the payment of social welfare, the latest figures from Linz have FP city councillor Michael Raml fuming once again: "They show that in recent years, unfortunately, far more than just skilled workers who are willing and able to work have immigrated to Linz. The Linz SPÖ's fairy tale about the influx of skilled workers may have sounded good to some romantics, but it remains a fairy tale."

Linz FP city councillor rages
The Freedom Party councillor is upset that more and more social welfare is being spent on foreigners in Linz. While the number of welfare recipients with an Austrian passport has actually fallen and expenditure has risen by 3.9 percent, the analysis shows that payments to third-country nationals increased by almost EUR 100,000 last year.

"Social welfare must be a safety net for our citizens"
Raml: "We cannot and do not want to afford this. The taxpayers' money should first and foremost benefit people in need. Social welfare must be a safety net for our citizens in need, not a gateway for illegal economic migration. The Linz SPÖ always talks about a welcoming culture; for my part, I call for a culture of integration and achievement."