The Government believes that the PS leader criticized the new housing construction plan without fully understanding its details. They also argued that his statements show he is out of touch with current estimates regarding housing shortages.
Yesterday on his visit to Porto PS secretary-general Pedro Nuno Santos expressed his concerns about the housing plan proposed by the Government. He argued that the construction of 59,000 houses by 2030 represents a step back compared to what was planned by the previous administration.
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Government Defends Housing Plan
In a statement to the media today, Secretary of State for Housing Patrícia Gonçalves Costa commented on the remarks made by the PS leader. She noted that the socialist leader gave a very quick response to journalists and demonstrated a lack of understanding.
Furthermore, she added that the PS secretary-general did not grasp the scope of the Government’s measure when he claimed that the previous executive had already planned everything.
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Costa pointed out that the previous 1.º Direito program only covered up to 50% of the costs for renovation projects, depending on the type of renovation. She said that:
The State Budget will finance another 10,000 houses at 100%, which is a lot of money. The others that are finished by 2030 will have financing at 60%.
While defending the government Costa said:
We are now talking about 60%, regardless of whether it is renovation, by 2030.
Changes Introduced by the Current Government
The Secretary of State for Housing commented on the changes introduced by the PSD/CDS-PP executive, led by Luís Montenegro. She explained that, with the new support provided by the current Government, the 2.8 billion euros allocated in the State Budget will be fully utilized by 2030. She said:
I am putting forward 390 million euros approved by the previous Government, but it was the current one that actually put this money towards meeting the target of 26 thousand homes. We put in another 400 million euros last July and now we are making another two billion available until 2030, something that was not understood by the PS secretary general.
Patrícia Gonçalves Costa highlighted that, within the scope of the Recovery and Resilience Programme (RRP) application, the government submitted plans for 58,993 houses, not just 26,000 as previously reported.
She reinforced her stand and added:
The PS secretary-general did not understand, because the 1.º Direito programme continues to exist — enshrined in local housing strategies. We are talking about money above the 1.º Direito. These two billion euros via the State Budget are a measure above the RRP. It is 60% financing, regardless of whether the response is rehabilitation or new construction. Essentially, we are creating an exceptional regime within the 1.º Direito programme.
Data and Estimates for Housing Needs
The Secretary of State stated that, for housing shortages, the data points to completely different values compared to what previous socialist executives calculated, which is now out of date. She further pointed out:
Our responses are based on real data and a real budget to address this problem. There are more than 80,000 houses by 2030. Currently, municipalities say they need to build 130,000 houses. Naturally, municipalities decide whether to apply for them under the 1st Right program or the RRP.
In other words, the Secretary of State for Housing highlighted that the “1st Right” program will continue with its current allocation and any necessary reinforcements.
She added that for those who applied under the PRR, the government will provide 100% financing if the project is completed by March 2026, in addition to the funds already made available.
