The plenary session of the Parliament has approved an initiative of the PSIB to claim that part of the Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS) to the construction of public housing. The motion originally included a minimum percentage of 15% for that purpose, but that point has been null with the approval of an amendment proposed by the PP. On this issue, the socialist deputy Carol Marqués has celebrated that, although a specific amount is not set, it is “a step” forward, while regretting that they have not supported other points. However, the deputy of the PSIB, has shown caution: has pointed out that the PP “has no real intention to reach agreements”, especially in housing. In defending the motion, the socialist deputy has expressed the need to encourage an increase in the supply of decent housing for residents. And she considered that the use of the ITS will allow precisely to mitigate the impact of tourism on the problem of access to housing. The deputy has asked to accelerate the delivery of subsidized housing, arguing that the Government of Marga Prohens “found the machinery in motion”.
Other voices
Other parliamentary speakers have addressed the issue. While there is agreement on the need to find solutions to the housing crisis, they differ in the proposed approach. On the PP side, the deputy Margarida Pocoví has defended the policies implemented by the PP Government to mitigate “the lack of housing policies by the Pacte”. Pocoví has justified the vote against the point that asked to declare tensioned zones insisting that the Govern “will not apply interventionist policies”. At the same time, Vox deputy Idoia Ribas stated that the problem of access to housing is no longer a marginal issue and that public housing “can only alleviate the problem”. The problem, according to Ribas, has reached dimensions that require a complete reformulation of policies. “For there to be more housing, land must be freed up,” he argued, calling for a “true liberal policy to solve the problem.” In turn, the deputy of MÉS per Mallorca Ferran Rosa has rejected that all responsibility for the housing situation is attributed to the Pacte, when the situation experienced by other territories is “identical”. The ecosoberanista has regretted that for the current Govern the recipe against a market problem is more market. “They are those who believe that a hangover can be cured with beer,” he said.
