President announces 50,000 new public housing units by 2030 during 2024 General Policy Debate

President Salvador Illa announced on Tuesday a new housing program to create 50,000 social housing units by 2030.

The Socialist leader made the announcement in the opening speech of the 2024 General Policy Debate, which began on Tuesday and will conclude on Thursday.

"We will invest €1.1 billion a year in housing. That is €4.4 billion in four years. No other autonomous community in Spain will invest more money in housing," he said.

Illa also revealed that the government will turn over all land reserves it owns to local councils and will work with the Spanish government to convert all of these properties into social housing.

"We need more available land and cooperation between the private and public sectors," he said in an hour-and-a-half speech that began at 4 pm.

The president also announced that the government will halve the time it takes to hand over the keys to a social house unit from 100 months to 50 months.

"Housing cannot condition the life projects of our citizens, especially young people," he added.

'We will have a new financing model'

Illa announced that the new financing model for Catalonia agreed between them and the pro-independence Esquerra as part of the deal to make him president will become a reality.

With the new financing model, Catalonia would have full control over its taxes, as opposed to now, which are managed by the Spanish government.

"It will happen: Catalonia will have a new financing model with the terms agreed with Esquerra. We will strictly comply with the agreement," he said. 

The Socialist also announced that he would stick to the timetable of the agreement, which means that the new system will be developed next year and fully functional by 2026. 

"It is an ambitious agreement, but it is not against anyone. It respects everyone and is in favor of the whole of Catalan society," he added.

If you want to learn more about the new financing model, have a listen to this episode of our podcast Filling the Sink.

Drought, renewable energy and Barcelona airport

The president said that the drought that Catalonia has been suffering for more than three years "is not over," although the situation has improved in recent months.

"We continue to suffer a serious drought. We cannot let our guard down," he said, announcing a series of measures to combat it.

The Socialist also focused on the green transition and announced increased investment in renewable energy.

Illa also touched on a controversial issue: the expansion of Barcelona airport. "Our goal is to improve the airport," said Illa.

The president revealed that the expansion proposals will be made public in the first quarter of next year.

Move beyond 'confrontation' with Spain

Illa said Catalonia must "move beyond confrontation" with Spain and seize "opportunities for cooperation" with the Spanish government.

"Catalonia has made more progress when it has shared hope and optimism with Spain and Europe," he said. 

The president has called for a "plural and diverse" society and has warned against "the rise of totalism," which is one of the "greatest threats" facing Western societies today. 

"Catalans have asked for more dialogue and less noise. I will talk to everyone in this room except those who use hate speech," he said.

The Socialist has stressed Catalonia's ability to integrate and has guaranteed that the government will "neutralize all hate speech one by one."

"Of the 8 million Catalans, 18% are foreigners. This enriches us and makes us better as a society. We have to remember that Catalonia was built by all of us," he said, including all people born here in Catalonia, but also from across Spain or, more recently, from all nationalities.

Call for ceasefire on October 7 anniversary

The Catalan president began his speech by referring to the one-year anniversary of the 2023 October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, a "terrorist attack" that Illa condemned.

"Peace has always been my main concern," Illa said, referring to composer Pau Casals' famous address to the United Nations in 1971.

The Socialist condemned "every act of violence" and called for "an immediate ceasefire and the respect of UN resolutions."

"Catalonia will always be on the side of democracy and peace," he said. 

Key debate to test Illa's support

The Catalan Parliament will hold the 2024 General Policy Debate from Tuesday to Thursday. 

It is the first debate of this kind since the Socialist Salvador Illa was elected president in August this year.

The session began at 4 pm with a speech by president Illa. It will continue on Wednesday, with the intervention of other parties, and finish on Thursday, with the debate and vote on the proposals presented.

The debate comes amid negotiations between the Socialists and other parties to garner enough support to pass next year's budget.

It will be a thermometer to see if the majority that brought Illa to the presidency - the Socialists with the pro-independence Esquerra and the left-wing Comuns,- has enough support to sustain the first part of the term.