Portugal Safety and Security report Wednesday 24^th April 2024

Good morning everyone. Firstly a reminder a reminder that Land cleaning (fuel management) applies to all those living in rural areas – in particular the 991 priority areas designated by the ICNF https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/despacho/2171-2024-853818225. The deadline for cleaning land is 30^th April, just 6 days away.

Fuel management is the reduction of vegetable and woody materials to make it difficult for fire to spread. In short, it means cutting weeds, shrubs and trees in some areas. When a fire reaches the areas where fuel management was performed, it decreases in intensity. Homes and villages will be safer. Firefighters can intervene more effectively and safely in areas where fuel management has been performed.

Land cleaning is mandatory and must be carried out within a range of 50 metres around buildings or facilities located in rural areas. This fuel break is measured from the exterior wall of a building or structure. In the case of population clusters (10 or more houses) the fuel break must be widened to 100 metres. If you fail to do this, from 1st May you can incur fines of up to €10,000 and businesses can incur fines of up to €120,000. You will be warned beforehand and a deadline to comply.

Overgrown neighbouring land within 50 metres of your building is one of the main concerns we receive. If you cannot contact the owner you should alert the competent authorities (GNR) to the situation or the city council. You can also call 808 200 520 to report the situation. Do this by 30th April and all reports will be followed up to check the risk and if it breaches the law action will be taken. Nothing can be done if you do not report this.

Car accidents in car park scams. The GNR yesterday highlighted these scams where the scammers falsely accuse another driver of causing damage to the vehicle during parking manoeuvres, often in supermarket car parks. They pressure and attempt to intimidate victims, demanding money to cover the alleged damages. When faced with the possibility of police intervention, they are quick to accept any monetary amount to end the situation. We know several people who have been approached in this way. It is important not to give in to pressure; do not make any payments to fraudsters and contact the authorities immediately via the emergency number 112. Write down all relevant details of the suspects’ vehicle, including registration number, model and colour, to help in the posterior investigation.

As you may be aware I was on KissFm radio last Sunday discussing the situation regarding deaths from drowning mainly in the sea but also rivers and reservoirs as well. Since then Sintra municipality, one of the most popular beach destinations, has announced that their beaches will feature the presence of lifeguards to ensure the surveillance and safety of bathers from April 25 to 28 and on weekends and May holidays from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. We applaud this measure. Very few beaches are using lifeguards at present, ahead of the main bathing season, which normal starts at the end of May or beginning of June. Given the high number of rescues we have seen during the Easter period this year this is not a moment too soon.

We wish you a safe and nice week ahead.

News

Government gives “priority” to promoting careers in the security forces

Portalegre, April 23, 2024 (Lusa) – The Minister of Internal Administration, Margarida Blasco, guaranteed today that it is a “priority” for the Government to promote the dignification of careers and professional and remunerative development of security forces.

The minister, who was speaking in Portalegre at the Commitment of Honour ceremony of the 53rd GNR Guard Training Course, made up of 306 guards, highlighted that the Government “is well aware” of the needs and investments in that sector.

“The (Government) is well aware of the needs and investment in operational technical means, infrastructure and especially in human resources, which necessarily involves the dignification of their careers. As stated in the Government’s program, the dignification of careers and the professional and remunerative development of the men and women who serve in the security forces are a priority, stimulating and promoting adequate professional motivations from the base of the pyramid to the top.” , he said.

The Minister of Internal Affairs also stated that “it is the Government’s intention” to initiate a process to restore the attractiveness of security careers, namely through a remuneration review.

On Monday, Margarida Blasco announced that she will present on May 2nd a proposal to award a subsidy to members of the PSP and GNR, which she believes will satisfy the police.

“In this protocol that we negotiated today, the priority was the discussion of risk subsidy, which is a horizontal matter and which the unions consider to be a priority and which we, the Government, will take into account”, Margarida Blasco told journalists, at the end of the meetings with the GNR socio-professional associations and PSP unions.

The minister clarified that she does not yet know whether it will be a risk subsidy or a mission supplement, and a formula will then be found that applies to the PSP and GNR.

Margarida Blasco declined to say what amount and how the subsidy will be awarded, referring to the proposal that will be presented on May 2nd.

“We are doing very hard work to present this proposal to the unions with all the conditions and what we understand to be satisfaction for all police professionals”, he stated.

B-Rail Trains will be able to run from 2029

With the High Speed ​​Line, we will finally have competition to CP.

The line that currently connects Porto to Lisbon, the Northern line, is the main railway line in the country. Almost half of all passenger trains and more than 90% of freight trains operated daily in the country run, at least in part, on the Northern line. For this reason, and despite there being demand, it is not possible to increase the supply of rail service on the axis between Porto and Lisbon. Furthermore, after almost three decades of investment in the complete modernization of the Northern line, the best possible travel time is 2h49, which could be reduced to 2h35 when the ongoing works are completed. Therefore, with the capacity and speed increase potential of the Northern line practically exhausted, the most appropriate solution is to build a new line, with an entirely new route.

It was, therefore, inevitable to launch the High Speed ​​Line, whose tender for the first section was finally launched this month. This section will ensure the connection between Porto and Oiã, in the district of Aveiro, a route of 70 kilometers. The work is budgeted at 1,950 million euros and will operate under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) regime.

The LAV construction between Lisbon and Porto is divided into three phases: a first between Porto and Soure (which is subdivided into the Porto-Oiã and Oiã-Soure sections); the second, which will connect Soure to Carregado; subsequently, the connection will be made between Carregado and Lisbon.

The section between Porto and Oiã is part of Phase 1 of the project, which also includes the section between Oiã and Soure, and has an investment of around 3,550 million Euros.

With Phase 1 completed, travel time should soon be reduced from the current 2h50 to less than 2 hours. After Phase 2, a non-stop train between Lisboa Oriente and Porto Campanhã is expected to make the journey in 1h19, while a service with 4 stops (Leiria, Coimbra, Aveiro and Gaia) will make the journey in 1h45.

The new Porto – Lisbon line has a design speed of 300 km/h. This speed was selected from among several scenarios in order to allow a travel time that is clearly competitive with air transport and that also allows competitive connections with the highway between a wider range of cities, which includes Leiria, Coimbra and Aveiro, but also Braga, Guimarães, Évora, Faro, Figueira da Foz or Guarda, for example.