Legal aid can now be requested directly from the Social Security Direct page and will be answered in a few days, a “digital revolution” for the labor secretary and a “giant step” for the justice secretary.
The new service was presented today at the headquarters of the Social Security Institute in Lisbon and is the result of the work of various bodies belonging to the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security and the Ministry of Justice.
According to the data provided, the Social Security Service receives an average of 140,000 new applications for legal aid each year, which had to be done in person and with the delivery of various documents on paper.
It has been estimated that 3 million A4 sheets were delivered each year, directly resulting in the felling of 136 trees each year.
This service required an average response time of 60 days, which is two months.
Speaking to journalists, the Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Protection assured that the goal “is for this to become very fast, since all information is in the system itself and is distributed among various bodies.”
“We expect the response to be very fast. The implementation starts now, we will follow it, but it will be much faster,” said Ana Mendez Godinho, without setting any specific timeline.
Earlier in her speech, the minister stressed that the new service demonstrates the “realization of the April values” and that “there are no insurmountable barriers.”
“In the year we begin celebrating our 50th anniversary on April 25th, we are also, together with this symbolic process of transformation, bringing about a digital revolution, a digital revolution in the service of citizens and in the service of a more inclusive society capable of tearing down walls that cannot exist,” defended Ana Mendes Godinho.
The Minister of Justice, on the other hand, stressed that the new service “is a giant step forward” towards digitally searching for all available information, whether about household, income or property, “and thus to be able to determine whether this citizen is there is a right to a lawyer,” said Catarina Sarmento and Castro, emphasizing that “there will be no justice if it is not for everyone.”
The minister stressed that in 2022, 132.6 million euros were spent on legal aid, which is 50% more than in the last ten years.
The Minister of Justice clarified that legal aid is for those who do not have the financial means to pay for themselves and can translate into the right to a lawyer, as well as the expertise of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, translation or interpretation services or mediation … and arbitration .
Instead of being in person and on paper, this request is now available on the Direct Social Security page, which the Minister of Justice believes will also lead to faster functioning of Justice.
Minister Ana Méndez Godinho also noted that in seven years, access to the Direct Social Security page has increased from 16 million users in 2015 to 134 million in 2022.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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