Seven new Flash Reports prepared by the European Social policy Network (ESPN) are now available and provide information on recent developments in social protection in Ireland, Austria, Poland, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, and Latvia

• In July 2015, the National Assembly of the Austrian Parliament adopted a Tax Reform Act which includes no less than 43 different measures. One of the most important changes is a reduced income tax for most taxpayers from 2016 onwards. Yet, for low-income households, the positive impact of this reduction will be rather limited.
• Two important developments point the way forward for Ireland’s out-dated and punitive system for asylum seekers. Two recent reports (one from a parliamentary Joint Committee and one from the Government’s Working Group on Improvements to the Protection Process) make far-reaching proposals and stress that the system is unfit for purpose.
• In July 2015, the Polish Parliament adopted the amendment to the Labour Code making the rules on maternity/ paternity/ parental leave clearer and more flexible, so that it is easier for both parents to share leave and to combine it with part-time employment. The new solutions will be effective from January 2016.
• Several Dutch municipalities have announced plans to experiment with a number of changes to the social assistance benefits scheme in order to trim the red tape and simplify rules and sanctions for welfare recipients.

The latest series of ESPN Flash Reports also reports on: gaps in the provision of long-term care services in Lithuania, the planned improvements in the social benefit system in Liechtenstein (especially rent allowance, child allowance, and helplessness allowance) and changes in the Latvian pension system which will have short- and long-term effects on pensions.