Catalina Cladera: "The 103 million euros poured into Tirme smell of waste"

PalmaThe PSIB-PSOE does not intend to overlook the report from the General Intervention of the Council of Mallorca, which makes a very unfavorable assessment of the Tirme concession and concludes that it has a serious impact on the interests of the Administration. The socialist spokesperson at the island institution, Catalina Cladera, demanded this Tuesday "the immediate halt" of the tariff modification file, the suspension of the application of the 2026 tariff, and the review of the 41 million euro credit modification approved by the Council plenary session in the month of July.

The socialists also demand that the Accounts Audit Office (Sindicatura de Comptes) conduct an independent audit of the concession and that the waste treatment fee be revised downwards. Until the oversight body pronounces on the tariff system, the PSIB requests that the extraordinary contribution of 41 million approved in favor of the concessionaire be frozen.

“The 103 million extra euros poured by Galmés into Tirme during this mandate are a scandal and smell of waste of public funds,” stated Cladera. Therefore, she wants the Council to “immediately” stop the tariff change file and for the 41 million extra euros paid to the concessionaire Tirme to be frozen until the Accounts Audit Office pronounces on the concession's tariff system. The socialist spokesperson considers that the island government has accepted the concessionaire's tariff proposals without negotiating the amounts or proposing a downward revision.

The Intervention report, the socialists warn, questions both Tirme's tariff structure and the methodology used to calculate the price of the service. Among other aspects, it points out that CPI increases have been applied to the amortization of infrastructure built two decades ago and that estimates of the tons of waste treated have been used instead of actual data. This methodology would have caused the tariff increases to be above the real evolution of the service's costs.

The document also warns of profitability levels that are “disproportionate for a company in charge of providing an essential public service” and focuses on the high distribution of dividends.

Since the end of 2023, the Council has mobilized more than 103 million euros through credit modifications intended to contain, subsidize, or regularize Tirme's rates. Of this amount, 41 million correspond to the contribution approved in July 2026 to avoid a rate increase and apply a 10% reduction to it.

Cladera has described the report as "devastating," which is included in the file that will reach the Council plenary session this Thursday, September 10th. According to the socialist, the document shows that the cost of the concession is very unfavorable for the institution and forces the President of the Council, Llorenç Galmés, to provide explanations regarding the contributions made during the term.

The PSIB also accuses Galmés of having kept the report hidden until he was forced to make it public and attributes to him an "enormous responsibility" regarding the management of public funds.

MÉS per Mallorca has also demanded in recent weeks an immediate review of the concession to the company Tirme, and has accused the PP of turning the Council of Mallorca into its "ATM".