Italy To Double Baby Bonus To Fight Low Birth Rate

Italy will be giving couples twice its current baby bonus to contest its drastically declining birth rate. Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin has said that the present €80 monthly bonus for families in the lower income brackets should be doubled.

Lorenzin, according to BBC, also wants to have higher child benefits for second and subsequent children. This is seen to encourage couples to have bigger families. Italy recorded the fewest births in their history last year, with only 488,000 babies born.

"If we carry on as we are and fail to reverse the trend, there will be fewer than 350,000 births a year in 10 years' time, 40 percent less than in 2010 - an apocalypse," Lorenzin said in an interview with daily newspaper La Repubblica, as per The Nation. Lorenzin added that Italy has lost more than 66,000 births annually in five years.

Baby Bonus In Italy Started In 2015

The International Business Times reported that Italy began the baby bonuses last year. Families with babies born between January 1, 2015, and the end of 2017 are eligible for the child benefit payments.

The families receive the €80 baby bonus monthly until the baby turns three. The bonus corresponds to around $90.

Baby Bonus To Be Extended

Lorenzin seeks to have all families with babies under three years old to be eligible for the baby bonuses. The new scheme will now include babies born before 2015.

The health minister also wants to extend the baby bonuses for three more years. The extended baby bonus scheme will make all babies born until the end of 2020 eligible.

However, BBC said that this would add around €2.2 billion to Italy's government spending over six years. Italy is already said to be under pressure from the European union to cut its spending and to reduce its debt.

Do you think doubling the baby bonus will address Italy's declining birth rate? Write your comments below.