The announcement was made this afternoon by the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, Miguel Pinto Luz, who was heard in parliament by the Committee on Economy, Public Works, Planning and Housing, at the request of the PS.

"A working group will be created to analyze and review the subsidy model, always within the principles of social justice that led to its creation", said the minister, committing to present a report with the conclusions by September 15.

The working group will have representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Infrastructure, Regional Governments of Madeira and the Azores, National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC), General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) and the General Directorate of the Treasury and Finance.

This hearing comes after the Public Ministry, on April 11, filed charges against 60 defendants in a case involving crimes of qualified fraud and forgery of documents related to the social mobility subsidy of the Azores, which will have harmed the State in more than 318 thousand euros.

"I want to make it very clear that this Government unreservedly condemns any illegal behavior. Not only is the State harmed by the fraudulent use of the subsidy. The first victims are the Portuguese taxpayers themselves. We will act quickly to improve the existing model", he said.

In terms of numbers, Miguel Pinto Luz said that, in 2023, the social mobility subsidy covered 140 thousand trips from the Autonomous Region of Madeira and 203 thousand from the Azores.

"The social mobility subsidy is, nobody denies it today, an important milestone for social cohesion. It serves to bring the different parts of the national territory closer together, overcoming historical contingencies and geographical constraints", he stressed.

Regarding the current model, which he acknowledged needs to be "improved", Miguel Pinto Luz indicated that there are "many discrepancies in the prices charged by travel agents and companies" and "difficulties in the reimbursement process, with understandable complaints from users".

"I stress without any reservations that it is totally unacceptable to see Madeirans and Azoreans with difficulties in accessing the reimbursement of the subsidy", he said.

In addition to creating the working group, the Government will propose a limitation on the ticket issuance fee of 35 euros, requiring the invoice from the airline and limiting the maximum eligible total cost.

In the case of Madeira, the limit will be 400 euros and, in the Azores, 600 euros, according to Miguel Pinto Luz.

In the speeches of the deputies, the PS, through the deputy Francisco César, questioned the Minister of Infrastructure about the Government's willingness to decentralize this process to the regional governments, expressing "willingness to dialogue" and find "other solutions".

The Left Bloc (BE) and the Livre defended that the new model to be implemented should change the reimbursement logic and allow the ticket to be purchased for the maximum value.

"Right next door, in the Canary Islands (Spain), on trips made to the peninsula, people already pay the maximum amount and the airlines have a sales system that is adapted to this. Therefore, it is not necessary to reinvent the wheel", argued the deputy Marisa Matias (BE).

In the response, Miguel Pinto Luz said that "until now the airlines have stayed out of" this matter, but expressed openness to the reversal of the current model, depending on the conclusions of the working group.

The Minister estimated that the new model for the social mobility subsidy could be implemented by the end of the year.

The mobility subsidy allows residents of the Azores to travel to the mainland at a maximum airfare of 134 euros, with the entire amount above this target being reimbursed by the State.

In Madeira, residents pay 86 euros for round-trip connections to the mainland and 119 euros to the Azores, an amount that can be increased if it exceeds the maximum ceiling of 400 euros, being 65 euros for students.

Students also have the possibility of paying only 65 euros at the time of purchasing the ticket if they do so at a travel agency. The other residents have to pay for the trip and can only be reimbursed at the end.

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