Obtain your Finance, Social Security and Health user numbers all in one place
Foreign citizens will now have a single place they can visit to obtain tax, social security and health system user numbers.
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Minister of Youth and Modernisation, Margarida Balseiro Lopes announced this new measure, at the end of a meeting of the first Council of Ministers at the Faculty of Science and Technology of Universidade Nova, in Almada earlier this week.
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Among the 15 new measures approved at the meeting, the minister highlighted the recent issues with foreign citizens trying to obtain identification numbers for the tax, social security and national health systems.
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"We know that the Finanças, Social Security offices and Citizen's Shops, have been faced with long queues" and "we have thousands of foreign citizens living in Portugal who are unable to access something as basic as a Tax Identification Number (NIF), a Social Security Number (NISS) or a Health System Number (SNS Utente) ", she said. Therefore, "what we are going to do now in 2024 is have a single place the citizen will have access to the three identification numbers, in the Citizen Spaces - this is a measure for this year, in the last quarter of 2024", explained Margarida Balseiro Lopes.
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"We will make this service available in Citizen Space of each town (Espaço Cidadão)", explained the minister.
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The project is being implemented by AMA (Agency for Administrative Modernization) and AIMA (Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum), and is expected to ease the workload of the people who work in the current entities that issue these numbers.
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Roadside AED equipment saves 27 year old from death
A 27 year old Irish man on holiday in Albufeira, who fell ill in the early hours of Monday morning, was immediately assisted by friends using the nearby Automatic External Defibrillation.
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The incident happened close to the intersection of Avenida Sá Carneiro and Rua José Fontana, where the AED booth is located.
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Friends of the man suspected a cardiorespiratory arrest and began resuscitation using the device until the arrival of a rescue team from the Albufeira Volunteer Firefighters, who managed to resuscitate the victim. The INEM Emergency and Resuscitation Medical Vehicle (VMER) was also called, and the victim was transported to Faro Hospital, conscious.
Albufeira was the first municipality in the Algarve to implement a community-based Automatic External Defibrillation program, certified by INEM, which allows lives to be saved in the event of cardiorespiratory arrest.
The “Albufeira + Segura” project operates 11 AED booths, equipped with automatic defibrillators, installed at strategic points on the public roads, plus two portable defibrillators - one given to the Municipal Police and the other to the Fire Department.
Launched in October 2017, the program initially trained 71 citizens, who voluntarily attended training in basic life support and automatic defibrillation, taking on the commitment to develop the network of equipment and integrate a greater number of community first responders. Currently, there are now around 900 AED operators assigned to the program, and by the end of the year, 12 more booths will be installed on the public roads of Albufeira.
The Albufeira Volunteer Firefighters and the GNR are the main partners of the program, being the first group of local first responders, with the advantage of being on the ground 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
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Albufeira: Young woman finally sentenced to 10 years in prison for nightclub murder
Mariana Carrilho, 22, has now been convicted of simple homicide, for stabbing to death Núria Gomes, 19, outside a nightclub in Albufeira. She was also ordered to pay compensation of €13,000 to Núria's family, for moral damages.
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Carrilho took the knife into the nightclub, hidden under her armpit, at her boyfriend's request. And then later, on the street, she used it to stab NĂşria in the chest, causing her death.
The crime took place in the early hours of April 16th last year, with the final court decision reading being postponed twice, from June 28th 2024 to July 11th 2024, then to yesterday, Monday 15th July, at 2:30 pm.
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The murderer's boyfriend at the time, José Oliveira, who was on trial for hiding the murder weapon and for assaulting a member of the GNR, was acquitted.
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Carrilho was accused of aggravated murder, but the judges decided that she should only be convicted of simple murder, which drastically reduced the sentence imposed to 10 years.
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“What was read in this ruling is that the victim slapped the defendant and that she defended herself. But it makes no sense - you do not defend yourself from a slap with a knife”, said the lawyer of the victim's family, Ana Antunes. She says she is shocked that “they are treating the victim as if she were a defendant, and the defendant as a victim”.
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The victim's family was outraged by the decision and is considering appealing to the Évora Court of Appeal.
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Faro: 32 surveillance cameras installed throughout the city
Faro City Council have announced that 32 surveillance cameras have been installed throughout the city, in operation 24 hours a day, providing protection for people and property, as well as being used to issue road fines.
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The city have invested over €450,000 to prepare the necessary infrastructure and implement this new system. The cameras, installed by Soltráfego – Soluções de Trânsito, Estajamento e Comunicações, SA, use the fiber optic network, and video monitor the city.
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They are positioned in various 'critical' areas of the city, such as next to the Court, outside educational establishments, the marina and on the city's main roads. Signage means you to know the areas that are covered by the surveillance system.
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The system is operated and monitored by the Public Security Police (PSP) and operates uninterruptedly, 24 hours a day, every day of the week, thus allowing the protection of people and property, aiming to prevent crimes and also reducing traffic violations.
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It is known that the visible presence of security cameras in public places significantly reduces the commission of crimes, acting as a deterrent for criminals. The video recordings can serve as evidence in criminal and administrative investigations, helping to identify those involved. Video surveillance systems also allow for a faster and more effective response in emergencies, accidents or natural disasters.
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The Mayor of Faro, Rogério Bacalhau, said this “is the result work carried out in close collaboration with the PSP, which will operationalize this video surveillance system in critical locations in the city, which will allow us to reinforce the feeling of security among residents and the increasing number of visitors to our city and municipality”.
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Residents once again demand an end to fumes emitted by the Silves cork factory
Residents in the Vale da Lama area of Silves once again demanded an end to the emission of smoke from the local cork factory of the Amorim Group, protesting the successive delays in resolving the problem.
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“The several dozen residents are losing confidence in the company, after it promised to resolve the problem in 2023,” Nuno Neves, spokesperson for the residents said, at the end of a meeting on Friday 12th July, at Silves City Council.
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CLICK HERE to see a video of how the area is affected with smoke.
The residents, who formed a civic movement called “The Factory’s Neighbours”, claim that Corticeira Amorim Cork Insulation did not comply with the plan presented to the City Council and the Algarve Regional Development Coordination Commission (CCDR), to eliminate smoke by the end of August 2023.
The emission of smoke and noise from the factory dedicated to the production of cork insulation agglomerates and located in Vale da Lama have been causing complaints from residents for several years.
According to Nuno Neves, the company committed today - in yet another periodic meeting with the CCDR, Silves City Council and residents - “to put an end to smoke by June 2025”.
“The company claimed problems with the installation of special filters to eliminate smoke, but promised that the matter is being addressed and will be resolved next year,” he added.
Residents' complaints led the municipality to take the initiative of acting as a mediator between the cork company, residents, the CCDR of the Algarve and the Pestana Group, with a golf course also affected by the smoke.
Nuno Neves explained that “the problem was not completely resolved”, but that “there was a reduction in white smoke and a reduction in noise”.
To demand an end to the fumes and the “environmental discomfort they cause”, the movement, made up of residents living near the factory, is holding gatherings at the entrance to the Chamber on the days when the meetings are held.
The spokesperson added that "residents' trust in the company has been decreasing, after the commitment to put an end to the problem was largely exceeded", but "they will calmly await the new date set".
However, he said, a new meeting has already been scheduled for the beginning of November, so that Corticeira Amorim can take a new look at the situation.
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Increase in passengers at Faro Airport
Faro Airport saw a 2.6% increase in the number of passengers arriving in May this year, not a huge amount, but probably for the best considering the carnage often seen at passport control when tourists arrive in to the country.
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The number of passengers handled at national airports across Portugal increased by 5.1% in the first five months of this year, to 26.2 million, half of which were at Lisbon airport, according to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), released today.
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During May this year, an average daily disembarkation of 106,400 passengers was recorded, a figure 6.2% higher than that recorded in May 2023 (100,200).
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Lisbon airport handled 13.6 million passengers up to May this year, which corresponds to 52% of the total and a growth of 5.6% compared to the same period last year.
Porto airport handled around 6 million; +5.6%, accounting for 22.8% of the total number of passengers arriving in Portugal, while Faro airport received 3.2 million passengers, a 2.6% increase in passenger movement on the same period in 2023.
The United Kingdom was the main country of origin and destination for flights, with an increase in the number of passengers arriving (+2.4%) and leaving (+2.8%) compared to the same period in 2023.
In comparison, France recorded decreases in the number of passengers arriving (-2.1%) and leaving (-2.4%), along with Spain, Germany and Italy who also have suffered a decrease in tourists.
