Sutaj Estok Hands Over Rental Flats for Police Officers and Firemen in Ivanka(2)

Bratislava/Ivanka pri Dunaji, 18 May (TASR) - Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) on Monday handed over ten new rental apartments in Ivanka pri Dunaji (Bratislava region) to members of the Police Corps and the Fire and Rescue Corps serving in Bratislava, the minister himself announced at a news conference on the same day, adding that the flats had been acquired in exchange for unused real estate under the ministry's administration. The units include one one-room flat, six one-bedroom flats, one two-bedroom flat and two three-bedroom flats. "We managed to do this by exchanging land that wasn't being used by the Interior Ministry and whose value was set by experts at €2.6 million. In return, we obtained ten service apartments worth €2.75 million," said the minister, specifying that the exchange involved the premises of a former nursery school in Bratislava's borough of Petrzalka. Sutaj Estok noted that living conditions are naturally the most challenging in the capital and that the ministry has the biggest problem recruiting police officers and firefighters for service in Bratislava. Police Corps President Jana Maskarova praised the minister's steps in the area of housing policy. According to her, this will help to stabilise Police Corps staffing in areas where it's most lacking. In response, the 'Slovakia' party has called on Sutaj Estok to start addressing the real problems faced by police officers and firefighters, such as under-staffing, departures of experienced officers, and worsening service conditions, such as a lack of starter housing in the city of Bratislava itself. "Police officers and firefighters don't need three-bedroom flats in Ivanka pri Dunaji, which will probably be designated for senior officials anyway. They need small starter flats, especially in Bratislava. That is what the policy should look like, not pretending, minister, that you are stabilising something you've long since destabilised," said former interior minister and MP Roman Mikulec ('Slovakia' party-For the People). NOTE: This story has been extended to include the final two paragraphs. ko/df