Palma. Transport, Agriculture and Territory minister Gabriel Company announced the change at a meeting of Parliament yesterday in which the Partido Popular government were presenting their budget for 2012.
The decision to make the modification, said Company was taken when it was realised that the subsidies already in the budget to cover the tunnel discounts were insufficient and there was no room, under present legislation to increase them.
The minister pointed out however, that the 2011 budget used by the previous Socialist coalition government and rolled over from 2010, was responsible for residents of Soller and Fornalutx now being out of pocket. The Opposition Socialists retorted that although they approved of the move which will financially benefit the residents, they pointed out that the government's Finance Minister Josep Ignaçi Aguiló had said just the previous day that the funds for tunnel discounts would emerge through better economic management.
The move to resolve the issue of the tunnel discount comes in the wake of a protest organised by residents in Soller and Fornalutx who have to use the tunnel daily and are now out of pocket because they had not received the discounts for using it promised them by the previous government.
At the same meeting yesterday, the Transport minister confirmed that there will be no further investment in Majorca's Railway Services (SFM) over and above what is absolutely necessary. Company said that the government hardly has any money at all to spend on development but that funding was expected to arrive from Central Government as per an already-existing agreement.