The Socialist Party (PS) is concerned about a possible "reversal of a reform that was underway", following the resignation request of the executive director of the National Health Service (SNS), Fernando Araújo.

"It is important to clarify the country, through Parliament, the reasons for this departure and try to understand what the Ministry of Health intends to do, because we may be witnessing a logic of reversing a reform that was underway, which has not yet been evaluated. This causes us concern and we believe that the proper place is Parliament", said the leader of the PS Parliamentary Group, Alexandra Leitão, in statements to journalists at the Assembly of the Republic.

It should be recalled that the PS wants to hear, in Parliament, Fernando Araújo and the current Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins, to discuss the request for resignation of the SNS Executive Board (DE-SNS).

Alexandra Leitão reiterated that what "worries" the PS is "the possibility that we are facing the hypothesis of witnessing a reversal of a reform that was underway, without it having been duly evaluated and its advantages considered".

"This worries us in terms of health policy and in terms of the SNS, and that is why we want to understand the reasons for this development, which results in the resignation of the DE-SNS", she continued.

The executive director of the National Health Service announced his resignation, together with his team, to the Minister of Health, claiming that he does not want to be an obstacle to the Government in the policies and measures it deems necessary.

"Respecting the principle of institutional loyalty, I will present to the Minister of Health, together with the team I lead, the request for resignation from the position of executive director of the National Health Service", said Fernando Araújo in a statement.

IRS? "Reduction without a vote will have to be for all proposals"

Regarding the proposals to reduce IRS, Alexandra Leitão explained that, from the PS's point of view, "any reduction without a vote will have to be for all proposals".

"There were consultations, but at this moment, we are waiting because we still have no answer regarding this. In other words, if there is a reduction without a vote, it will have to be for all proposals", she said, rejecting that there have been conversations on the subject with the Social Democratic Party.

"There was a conversation about the possibility of reducing [the specialty] without a vote. Our position is that it could happen, if they all go down without a vote, we still have no answer on that, we are calmly waiting, and we have our project", she concluded.

This afternoon, Parliament will discuss the proposal of the PSD/CDS-PP Government that changes the IRS rates, with all opposition parties presenting their own initiatives, and the outcome of the votes is uncertain, taking into account the balance of power in the Assembly of the Republic.

The Government's proposal, approved by the Council of Ministers at the end of last week, includes a reduction in rates between 0.25 and 3 percentage points up to the 8th income bracket, with the largest reductions (3 and 1.25 points) falling, respectively, on the 6th and 8th income brackets.

The solution displeased the PS, which accused the Government of focusing tax relief (accounted for in 348 million euros in 2024) on higher incomes, leading the socialists to put forward a proposal for an amendment that focuses the most significant part of the relief on lower brackets.

[News updated at 2:32 pm]

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