Tenerife Approves €692M Social Care Plan After Delays
Tenerife's Cabildo has approved a new €692 million social and health agreement, nearly a year after the previous one expired, to create 569 more support places for dependent individuals until 2028, pending final signature from the Canary Islands Government.
A new agreement to help people in Tenerife who need support due to age, disability, or illness was finally approved yesterday, Wednesday, by the Cabildo de Tenerife's Governing Council. This comes almost a year after the previous agreement, which provides these crucial services, ran out at the end of 2024.
This new plan sets out a fresh legal and financial structure. The Cabildo says it will create 569 more places for social and health services. However, the plan and these new places can't start until the Government of the Canary Islands officially signs the agreement.
The Cabildo sees this new plan as a big step forward from past agreements. It involves a total investment of 692 million euros until 2028. Of this, the Cabildo will pay 29%, which is 202 million euros. Once signed, the funding will apply retroactively from 2025.
Águeda Fumero (PP), the island's Minister of Social Action, called it "the most important social agreement of this term." She added that it will guarantee a stable Dependency system in Tenerife until 2028. Fumero also noted that the cost per service place will gradually increase between 2025 and 2028. For instance, the daily cost for a place in residential care for highly dependent elderly people will rise from 86 euros in 2024 to 94.06 euros in 2025, eventually reaching 106.39 euros by 2028.
After the Governing Council's approval, Rosa Dávila, president of the island corporation, highlighted "the commitment of this Cabildo and the Government of the Canary Islands to dependent people." She also praised "the efforts of the teams, who have worked intensely to update this agreement."
However, these positive statements contrast with the opposition's views over recent months. The PSOE party has strongly criticized the nearly year-long delay in signing this agreement. Back in June, they warned that social organizations running services like residences and day centers were facing "economic suffocation." This was because, without a valid agreement, the Cabildo couldn't make regular payments, leading to a build-up of unpaid bills. It's also worth noting that in recent years, the Canary Islands have ranked among the lowest in Spain for putting the dependency law into practice, being the second-worst autonomous community.