Morning ladies, just read this piece of news from Straits Times today and I doubt we would expect any additional perks on baby bonus anytime soon [IMG=http://www.singaporemotherhood.com/forumboard/clipart/sad.gif]
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Govt to help singles find partners and couples to have children
By Jane Ng
THE Government will look at ways to help single men and women find partners, in a bid to tackle the problem of falling birth rates.
More people are staying single and those who are married are putting off having babies, said Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, yesterday.
It was announced last month that Singapore's total fertility rate hit a historic low of 1.16 last year.
He did not provide details of the help that would be given to singles, but said the issue would be a major area of focus when Parliament meets next week to debate the details of the Budget.
'We know the vast majority of people do want to get married; we need to help them find the right partner and also see what other needs they feel need to be addressed so they can settle down early and start a family,' he said at the sidelines of a community event at Senja-Cashew community club.
He noted that the total fertility rate of married couples is two and that is 'healthy'.
'This means if a couple get married, they usually on average will have around two children, which is very healthy and in fact is not very different from Nordic countries,' he said.
The Nordic region includes countries like Finland, Norway and Sweden.
The Government does not plan to offer any more baby incentives at this point. 'The package was just enhanced in 2008. The recession had an impact on the total fertility rate. We're still evaluating the impact of the current measures, so there are no announcements to be made this time round,' he said.
Singles welcome the help to settle down. Operations officer Daniel Chan, 35, said: 'It's quite expensive to join dating agencies' events, so if the Government can help make them cheaper, that would help.'
Said Ms Elle Ho, 29, who works in the finance industry and has joined three dating agencies: 'It would be good if the Government can bring together people with common interests like the arts, and subsidise the classes.'
The increase in singles is sharpest among women aged between 25 and 29, with the proportion climbing from 45.5 per cent in 2000 to 62 per cent last year.
According to private matchmaking agencies, not only do singles here have very high expectations, but another problem is that the same group of people are signing up with the various dating agencies.
Ms Ada Wong, 32, co-founder of The Dating Loft, said: 'There is no lack of events and activities, with events almost every other week. But we see the same people all the time, so we wonder where the rest of the people are.'
The Government set up the Social Development Unit in 1984 to promote marriages among graduate singles, and formed the Social Development Services a year later for non-graduate singles.
The two units were merged in 2009 and renamed the Social Development Network to offer a one-stop centre for dating information, relationship courses and services.
