The Prime Minister and the Governor of the Bank of Portugal at last have agreed on something, albeit a dangerous proposal to lump all of the bad debt in Portugal’s banks into one glorious toxic deposit in a new mega-bank.

The ‘bad bank’ proposal could purge the banking system of toxic assets, an idea floated by the prime minister and enthusiastically approved of by Carlos Costa whose economic grasp is as suspect as ever.

The new law criminalising the mistreatment of domestic animals has not had the desired effect.

This is the conclusion of the People-Animals-Nature party whose lone MP is to take the matter up with the Minister of Justice, Frances Van Dunem.

The government is having a good look at reducing the toll charges on the Via do Infante motorway, according to local socialist MP António Eusébio.

In fact the whole socialist party “is working with the ministry in order to reduce the amount charged" or to put forward other measures such as "discounts for HGVs and during quiet times of the night and day."

A ‘mistake’ by Novo Banco has delighted thousands of Caixa Geral customers who have received unexpected but welcome windfalls.

"It was clearly a mistake," but one that may be hard to reverse as Novo Banco can not simply recall the money it has transferred and must rely on the goodwill of the recipients, or the courts.

Public Private Partnership renegotiations have led to a reduction in charges to the taxpayer of 11.8%, but the deals have been altered to shift road repair liabilities onto the State.

The Technical Unit of Budget Support has warned that there are “costs and potential revenue losses” incurred as a result of the renegotiation of nine PPP road contracts, mostly signed under the Sócrates government as a way of borrowing immense sums of money that did not show up on the government accounts.

Portimão mayor Isilda Gomes has created an internal squabble among her assembly members with those allied to ‘Servir Portimão’ saying they were not consulted over the Municipal Aid Fund rescue plan.

Servir Portimão has accused the socialist led council executive of launching a PR campaign to help see through the €130 million rescue plan which was never agreed on.

OECD data for 2015 show that in a year when there were no income tax rate rises in Portugal, the reality was that taxpayers were squeezed for more.

The figures are from between 2014 and 2015 and show that of the 34 countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Portuguese stealth taxes took the greatest toll due to rises in social security contributions and the chiselling away at allowances.

A public petition for the decriminalisation of assisted suicide is to be delivered to Parliament later this month for an open debate on whether to change the current laws.

The petition to enable those that wish to ‘die with dignity’ has more than eight thousand signature so has to be discussed by MPs.