“We have not heard of tax measures for young people here today, because the problem of young people lies precisely in salaries, access to housing or cultural enjoyment. It is precisely in these dimensions that we have to respond”, stated the former Minister of Housing.

Marina Gonçalves was speaking as a guest speaker at the 19th Regional Congress of the PS/Azores, which has been taking place since Friday at the Teatro Micaelense, in Ponta Delgada, with a speech dedicated to housing policies.

Arguing that it is necessary to “truly understand where the real problems” in society lie, the socialist warned of the importance of guaranteeing “better salaries for young people” and housing “compatible with the family income”.

“We must continue to demand that investment in housing takes the form of more public housing, more partnerships. Basically, more housing with prices compatible with family income”, she stressed.

Marina Gonçalves admitted that the “State, over the years, in recent decades, has not been able to strengthen the response” in terms of access to housing, but argued that there was a “very large investment in the construction of public housing” during the eight years of PS government under the leadership of António Costa.

“The public sector will never replace the private sector and the cooperative sector, but the public sector must grow and the private and cooperative sectors must, in fact, contribute to the construction of this housing stock at affordable costs”, argued the MP.