Adam Martyniuk, First Deputy Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, opened the parliamentary hearings, and suggested observing one minute´s silence in remembrance of the victims of Chornobyl disaster.
A. Martyniuk stated that 2 million 110 thousand Ukrainians were considered victims of Chornobyl disaster.
He stated, "A three-day international conference on this topic will be held on the initiative of the President of Ukraine in April. Heads of the states, leaders of the governments and other high-ranking officials will attend the conference."
The First Deputy Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine stated that the Parliament is going to revise the State Budget for the year 2011 further to the results of the first quarter, so the state budget revenue might increase.
Volodymyr Kholosha, Head of the State Agency for the Exclusion Zone Management, took the floor. He stated that Ukraine has to spend enormous material and financial resources to protect the casualties of the disaster, liquidate the consequences of the disaster in the exclusion zone, and restore the environment.
The priority measures in terms of overcoming of the consequences
of Chornobyl disaster include fulfillment of action plans as envisaged by the Laws
"On the National Program on Overcoming of the Consequences
of Chornobyl Disaster for the Years 2006-2010 ", "On
the All-Ukrainian Environmental Program on Nuclear Waste Treatment", and "On the All-Ukrainian
Program on Withdrawal of Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant from Service and
Transformation of "Ukryttia" Object into an Environmentally Safe
System."
Thus, UAH 1 million 860 thousand were allocated out of the budget for the radioactivity protection of the people residing in the polluted territories.
Funds of the research center of nuclear medicine of the Institute of Endocrinology and Institute of Pediatrics were allotted to support medical care for the victims. Supply of medicine was also supported at the expense of subsidies to the local budgets.
On the whole, state policy in the sphere of nuclear waste treatment is supported by the realization of action plans ratified by the Law of Ukraine of September 17, 2008, and the All-Ukrainian Target Environmental Program on Nuclear Waste Treatment developed for the period by the year 2017.
Kostiantyn Vashchenko, Deputy Minister of Social Policy, informed about the comprehensive and multi-faceted system of social security of victims of Chornobyl disaster based on the clear-cut normative and legal basis and respective budget funding.
Thus, the Law "On the Status and Social Security of the Victims of Chornobyl Disaster" envisages more than 100 privileges, compensatory payments, fringe benefits, and aids for the victims of the disaster.
According to K. Vashchenko, the renewed state strategy concerning social security of the victims of Chornobyl disaster should be based on the principles of targeted support, reasonability, consistency, and coherence.
To raise the standards of health resort treatment, he deems necessary to improve the order of purchase, distribution, and issue of hotel vouchers, and strengthen the qualification requirements for the participants of the tenders.
Anatolii Semynoha, Chairman of the Committee on Environmental Policy, Use of Natural Resources and Elimination of Consequences of Chornobyl Disaster, stated that The Verkhovna Rada and the Committee had always tackled the problems arising on the industrial premises of Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
The participants of the parliamentary hearings focused on the issues that need a cross-media approach. The following matters were considered topical: social security of the victims of Chornobyl disaster, legislative enhancement of the retirement scheme; financial support of the housing program; provision of vouchers to the health resorts for the adults and children; improvement of quality of health resort services; free supply of medicine on prescription; free subsistence of the children residing in the contaminated zones.
Further to the discussions, the Committee is going to draft the recommendations of the parliamentary hearings to be submitted to The Verkhovna Rada.