Free housing for ministers? “The rates are quite a burden right now.”

We are discussing how to reduce the rent for ministers who pay for a business apartment in Warsaw; but there is no question of free apartments – said Prime Minister Donald Tusk. He added that currently the rates are a “quite serious burden” for ministers and other senior officials.

During Friday's press conference, the Prime Minister was asked about the issue of possible free service apartments for ministers and deputy prime ministers.

In response, Tusk assessed that paying for a business apartment is currently “quite a serious burden” compared to the overall earnings of ministers. – It turns out that if the minister rents an apartment in Warsaw, his net salary is about PLN 7,000 a month. You will say that this is not a small amount, I agree, but believe me, it is increasingly difficult to convince those who have outstanding competences to do so, said Tusk, pointing out, among other things, that for the Minister of Justice, taking over the ministry involves a loss of approximately 60 percent. current remuneration.

– There is no question of free apartments. We are discussing how to reduce the possible rent, which is really high from their point of view, said the Prime Minister.

The matter was covered in October by the Business Insider website, which reported on work on the government's draft regulation, according to which the pool of people entitled to free service apartments would be increased to include ministers and deputy prime ministers.

In the light of current regulations, the most important state officials – the president, prime minister, marshals of the Sejm and Senate – are entitled to take up premises in Warsaw free of charge. However, ministers may rent premises belonging to the Chancellery of the Prime Minister for a fee; as Business Insider reported, Ministers currently pay PLN 50.55 gross per square meter to rent such premises. (PAP)

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