The  petition demanded the government should pay stay-at-home parents a specific allowance, but it  failed to get enough signatures Photo: Shutterstock

The  petition demanded the government should pay stay-at-home parents a specific allowance, but it  failed to get enough signatures Photo: Shutterstock

A debate on whether Luxembourg should introduce an allowance for stay-at-home parents has been axed after a review of the public petition found duplicate signatures.

The petition, launched on 4 June, said stay-at-home parents should much like jobseekers receive unemployment aid.

It reached 4,500 signatures, the minimum required for a debate in parliament with lawmakers and representatives of the government. But only 4,419 signatures could be validated after a review committee found 428 duplicates.

While close to the target, this means the petition will not be discussed, the Chamber of Deputies said on its .

The government under Xavier Bettel (DP) in 2015 had struck a €485 payment to stay-at-home parents, which was paid until the child’s second birthday, as part of a wider reform of child benefits and parental leave.

The author of the petition, Olivier Betz, said stay-at-home parents should receive a minimum revenue as long as they have children aged 0 to 15.

A  from 2019 failed to reach the required number of signatures.

Parliament opened 173 petitions for signature since July 2020, it last week. Only seven reached the threshold of 4,500 signatures to prompt a debate with lawmakers and the government.