So this rumbles on and on. We were promised a working platform in June that will give the reimbursement hours after booking, but no….Its just all talk from these incompetent authorities that keep getting voted for.
The JPP and Chega today defended, in the Assembly of the Republic, the creation of a guarantee fund and a financial guarantee mechanism in the Social Mobility Allowance for the Azores and Madeira.
During the presentation in plenary of a draft resolution recommending that the Government create a guarantee fund “to ensure direct payment of the difference in air tickets covered by the Social Mobility Allowance”, the sole JPP deputy in the Assembly of the Republic, Filipe Sousa, considered that this fund would be a “feasible, realistic and ready-to-implement solution”.
The “current mobility model is unfair” and leaves Madeirans and Azoreans “waiting for months on end for reimbursements,” the deputy stressed.
In today’s plenary session, MPs also debated a proposed resolution from Chega, which recommends that the Government create a financial guarantee mechanism that “ensures that residents of the autonomous regions of Madeira and the Azores pay only the fixed price for air tickets.”
The new model of the social mobility subsidy granted to residents and students of the Azores and Madeira, when traveling to the mainland and between archipelagos, came into effect on April 3, including a reduction in the maximum fare paid by the beneficiary.
The maximum amount paid by residents of the Azores for trips to the mainland has been reduced from 134 to 119 euros, or from 99 to 89 euros for students, with a limit of 600 euros on the eligible cost of the ticket.
On connections between Madeira and the mainland, the maximum fare for residents has been reduced from €86 to €79 and for students from €65 to €59, with an eligible fare cap of €400 in Madeira and €500 in Porto Santo.
For travel between the two archipelagos, the maximum fare for residents has been reduced from 119 to 79 euros and for students from 89 to 59 euros, with a maximum eligible ticket cost of 600 euros.
During the debate on the bills, IL MP Angélica Teresa argued that the Government should settle accounts directly with airline operators, speaking out against the fact that islanders “are the State’s treasurers” when they are “advancing money they often don’t have.”
For Chega, MP Ana Martins stated that the Social Mobility Allowance is a “State obligation” that must be ensured “under real conditions and day-to-day mobility”, since we are facing a “structural injustice”.
However, he added, the JPP proposal does not ensure that airlines “do not inflate prices, as they usually do.”
Left Bloc member Ana Galvão recalled that Azoreans and Madeirans “have been waiting too long for a fair solution”, in what is a “special problem for students and families” with low incomes.
Socialist Sofia Canha, however, considered that the proposal “does not bring anything new” and only intends to “satisfy party agendas”, recalling that the PS defends the “simplification of the model”.
Deputy Patrícia Gonçalves, from Livre, made another suggestion, arguing that maritime connections with Madeira should be included in the subsidy, while communist deputy Paula Santos said it was “unacceptable” that Madeirans and Azoreans “have to bear the entire cost associated with the ticket at uncomfortable prices.”
Inês Sousa Real (PAN) corroborated the criticism, considering that “it makes no sense” for residents of the Azores and Madeira “to continue to advance hundreds of euros”, particularly displaced students and low-income families, and defended the automatic allocation of the subsidy.
Social Democrat Paulo Moniz warned that “none of the proponents [of the diplomas] asked the companies” if they are willing to do the bureaucratic work of the State, considering the “hasty and unconsidered initiatives”.
On the other hand, João Almeida, from the CDS-PP, recalled that a debate is currently underway on the Social Mobility Allowance and that the diplomas now presented could “harm” this work.
Therefore, he added, first of all, this parliamentary work must be completed, while the Government also finishes the more technical part.