Marcinkova: Five Children Killed in Fires, But Parliament Fails to Act

Bratislava, 27 November (TASR) – Five children have been killed in November as a result of fires in shacks, but addressing this issue hasn't become a priority for Parliament, MP Vladimira Marcinkova of Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) told TASR TV on Thursday. On Tuesday (25 November), MPs held a minute of silence for the victims of a fire that broke out in Maslickovo, part of the troubled Kosice city district of Lunik IX, on 10 November. Two small children were killed in one of the simple structures. On the same day, another fire in a shack in the village of Kozarovce (Nitra region) claimed the lives of four people, including three children. "It's a terrible tragedy. We have a colleague in Parliament from Kozarovce, so I asked her about it," said Marcinkova. Under these circumstances, she believes that Parliament's priority shouldn't be transforming state offices via fast-tracked legislative procedures, but finding solutions for families confronted each winter with the risk of fire. "Five children died here just because they wanted to heat their homes and did not want to freeze," she underlined. According to Marcinkova, the solution lies in long-term support for anti-poverty programmes; for example, via micro-loans intended to provide housing that meets basic safety and hygiene standards. The lawmaker said that up to one billion euros from EU funds is available for financing anti-poverty measures, but it's important that the money is used effectively. She considers, for example, a project to plant trees around Roma settlements worth tens of millions of euros to be ineffective. She also disagrees with using this money to provide Roma families with free winter fuel. "Nothing that is free is good. There must be some value in return and visible effort," she said. mf/df