Montenegro began by alluding to reports about transactions of "accommodation at 600 to 700 euros per month, which are not rooms, much less apartments, they are beds in rooms, they are only two or three square meters".

“If we were to calculate the intrinsic value of that small space, it would probably be higher than the amount you pay in a five-star hotel when you rent a suite that has much more space", he added.

Luís Montenegro was speaking at the inauguration of the second phase of the Ventura Terra student residence. This facility for students of the University of Lisbon, located in Ajuda, has 280 beds and was financed in part by the PRR.

The prime minister considered that these values ​​make it impossible for some young people to study because they cannot “pay such an exorbitant amount” and that, therefore, “public authorities must also invest for reasons of justice and for reasons of deeper equity”.

“We are very committed to doing even more in the future, we are committed to having more residences. We will have many, new or renovated, in the coming years, particularly next year, we are also adding new projects to the plan that already existed”, he indicated.

Luís Montenegro said that there is also “an emergency response” that is “already on the ground” and that involves “using youth hostels, Inatel equipment, or using spaces that universities can contract to provide more supply while many of the definitive solutions are not yet guaranteed”, that is, while “the works are not yet ready”.

“We will continue to invest, and we will continue to invest because it is our obligation to safeguard democracy, it is our very deep obligation to materialise social justice and, above all, it is our obligation to move towards having a more economically developed country and to leave those who will come after us the foundations to be able to continue moving forward successfully and with guarantees of sustainability,” he stated.

The prime minister guarantees that the country will have “prosperity in the future”.

“We are investing in democracy, we are investing in social justice and we are investing in economic development,” Montenegro stressed.

At the same ceremony, the Mayor of Lisbon recalled his journey as a displaced student and said that he studied in the capital at a time when “there was only one residence”, stating that he “paid six thousand”, which is equivalent to 30 euros.

“It was the hardest 30 euros my family had to pay,” he said.

Carlos Moedas considered that “there is no greater injustice” than a person wanting to study in Lisbon and not being able to because of accommodation.

“It hurts a lot, and it cannot happen. And we have to fight to ensure that it doesn’t happen,” he stressed, indicating that there are currently 50,000 displaced students in the capital.

Indicating that since the beginning of his term, 3,500 beds have been licensed for higher education students, the mayor argued that it is possible to do more.

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