The Joint Commission for the reconstruction of La Palma, which met this Thursday on the island with the participation of the President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, ended without an agreement for the central Government to transfer to the regional Executive the 300 million linked to the State contributions planned for 2024, 2025 and 2026.
As the Minister for the Presidency of the Government of the Canary Islands, Nieves Lady Barreto, has reported, no "commitment" was reached either by the State to extend in 2027 the 60% income tax relief on personal income tax (IRPF), one of the key demands of the Archipelago.
Barreto has expressed her displeasure because both initiatives, "of vital importance for the Canary Island administrations and which depend only on a decision of the Council of Ministers," continue without a clear response from the State Executive.
In the same vein, she emphasized that "this legislature should not end without resolving these commitments, which are also expressly set out in the Law on the General State Budgets."
ACTIVITY OVERVIEW
During the meeting, Nieves Lady Barreto presented an assessment of the measures promoted in the current legislature by the Government of the Canary Islands within the roadmap established in 2023 for the recovery of La Palma, with special attention to the agricultural sector.
The minister recalled that, in 2024, the Canary Islands Executive allocated 16.5 million euros to compensate for the loss of income from bananas and that in 2025, 100 million in full from the regional surplus will be used to pay the owners the value of the plots of land that were buried or rendered unusable.
As for the 100 million from the 2026 surplus, Barreto stated that 23 million will be set aside to create a specific PEPAC for La Palma and another nine million to complete the payments linked to the removal of ash.
Likewise, the minister indicated that in the municipalities of Valle de Aridane there are more than 200 requests for licenses to rebuild farms that remain on hold pending the opening of agricultural tracks, since without adequate access it is not possible to begin the works. "Hence the importance of devoting resources from this surplus to help the Cabildo and the town councils in the recovery of tracks and roads," she warned.