Six opposition bills in the social sphere adopted

Six bills in the social sphere, presented by the opposition to improve support for citizens with disabilities and the elderly, were rejected this Friday in the Assembly of the Republic.

The SDP parliamentary group intended to amend the law-decree (126-A/2017) to allow citizens with disabilities not to suffer when receiving social support due to delays in medical examinations and obtaining a medical certificate of multipurpose disability. The proposal provided that beneficiaries could start receiving the inclusion subsidy from the time of the request.

According to the PSD, the deadline for accessing a medical board is 60 days, but the waiting time is much longer and can exceed three years, leaving the lives of vulnerable people “at risk,” Congresswoman Carla Madureira said.

PCP also proposed amendments to the law under consideration to “improve the conditions for access” for people with disabilities to social assistance for inclusion and to change the point at which the payment is due to applicants.

“In situations where the owner attaches evidence of a request for confirmation of disability, benefits are paid from the month of submission of this request, even if the approval is dependent on the presentation of the original medical certificate of multi-purpose disability,” the communists defended. in a text submitted and defended by MP Manuel Loff.

PAN has also followed up on this issue with a bill aimed at guaranteeing access to social benefits to include “in cases of delay in notifying the medical board”, with the delay not being the responsibility of the users.

The party introduced another legislative initiative to ensure that the periodic renewal of the base value of the solidarity allowance for the elderly “can never be below the poverty line”.

MP Inés Sousa Real cited a study released this week that found 1.9 million people live in poverty, a number that would reach almost half of Portugal’s population without existing social support.

Depurada by Bloco de Esquerda Isabel Pires defended a bill to expand the protection provided by social security to include.

“Recognition of entitlement to benefits may, in exceptional cases, be extended to persons with a degree of disability of less than 60% who are in a particularly serious situation of disability and / or dependence, confirmed by the conclusion of the INR” (National Institute of Rehabilitation), they suggested B.E. deputies for whom the question of justice is at stake.

Livre submitted to the plenary session a bill on “introducing justice into the system”, including the possibility of summing social benefits with social old-age pension.

MP Rui Tavares also gave the example that a child born with a disability should receive support from birth, and expressed support for legislative initiatives presented by other parties.

The Liberal Initiative, through Carla Castro, argued that the payment should be made retroactively, given the identified delays.

Chega, in the voice of deputy Bruno Nunez, focused on the issue of delays to ask if the former TAP manager Alexandra Reis had already returned any amount related to the millionaire’s compensation she received (500,000 euros) when she left the company, under circumstances that all are still being investigated and which have already motivated a parliamentary hearing of the same.

PS claimed social benefits created by socialist governments to reject proposals from opposition parties.

“The government aims to ensure by the end of the legislature that the cost of the solidarity allowance for the elderly reaches a living wage equal to or above the poverty line,” said socialist parliamentarian Cristina Souza.

“In line with this goal, the government has updated the reference value of the solidarity allowance for the elderly, increasing it by 600 euros per year,” he added.

The PSD project rejected by PS received approval from Chega, Liberal Initiative, PCP, BE, Livre and PAN.

The PCP initiative received positive votes from Chega, BE, PAN and Livre. PS voted against, while PSD and IL abstained.

The PAN projects were rejected. The initiative regarding the Solidarity Supplement for the Elderly received votes against PS and PSD and for Chega, IL, BE, PCP and Livre, while the other (social inclusion payment) received votes in favor of PSD, Chega, IL. , PCP, BE and Livre. PS voted against.

The BE bill was voted down by the PS and PSD against. PCP, PAN and Livre voted in favor, while Chega and the Liberal Initiative abstained.

The Livre thesis project was approved by PCP, BE and PAN. PS voted against. PSD, Chega and Il abstained.