The Mayor of Kythera, Efstratios Harhalakis, participated in the Subcommittee on Island Regions of the Parliament on Tuesday 24 June 2025, in the context of a discussion on public health policies on the islands. In his brief but comprehensive intervention, Mr. Harhalakis described the particular nature of the island problems in the health sector, underlining the need for practical solutions and institutional interventions.
The Mayor's main interventions
The Mayor of Kythera started by highlighting the problem of accessibility in emergencies, due to adverse weather conditions and isolation. He personally referred to an incident where an evacuation from Kythera could not take place due to 10 winds.
He cited as an example the case of the only doctor of a critical specialty at the Kythera Hospital, who had requested a transfer shortly before a serious traffic accident. The non-approval of the move, after his intervention, allowed the patient to be saved. The incident was used to highlight the need not to remove doctors of unique speciality from the islands.
Mr. Harhalakis also spoke about the need to upgrade rural and regional clinics and not only hospitals. Special mention was made of the Antikythera Regional Medical Center, with emphasis on the need for financial programs for building upgrades.
On the subsidy policy, he argued that the housing and food subsidy measures are effective, citing that the Municipality of Kythera has allocated over 160,000 euros since 2018 to keep the rural clinics full.
The proposal for the development of real estate
Most of the Mayor's presentation focused on a key issue: the use of municipal properties for social housing for doctors, nurses and teachers. Mr. Harhalakis revealed that the Municipality of Kythera has 40 properties - landed estates which cannot be developed due to extremely complicated legislation.
He asked the government to simplify the legal status of legacies so that municipalities can convert these buildings into residences for scientists who staff health and education services on the islands. The proposal was formally placed on the minutes with a request that it be forwarded to the Ministry of Finance.
The presentation of empirical evidence and the highlighting of the specificity of islands gave the Commission's dialogue the substance that is often lacking in the central administration.
