PS/Algarve accused the government of “penalizing” the region with the decision to end the exemption regime in Via do Infante for residents, considering that the announced reduction of 15 percent “does not serve the economic interests of the region”. This Tuesday, the president of the Federation of Algarve of PS António Eusébio also protested against the change of INEM's helicopter from Loulé to Beja, a measure that he considered to "marginalize the Algarve" and is "extremely punitive".
In two separate communiqués, the leader of the Algarve socialists came to demonstrate his displeasure in relation to two situations that were on the agenda yesterday. The end of the exemptions on the A22 had already been announced, but António Eusébio argued that these should be maintained “until the completion of the renovation work on Estrada Nacional 125”.
"This measure penalizes, once again, the Algarve region, both in the economic and social context, with the aggravation that it will contribute to a significant increase in accidents on the EN 125 and other secondary roads, which will absorb a large part of the traffic that will no longer use the Via do Infante», he considered.
The socialist accused the Government of not having fulfilled the promise he made, that is, to "maintain the exemptions until the completion of the works on the EN 125", when "it is the Government itself that makes the fulfillment of this promise unfeasible by keeping these works suspended improvement of the national road'.
For António Eusébio, «in view of the general feeling that points to its abandonment if the Government's decision is maintained, we are facing a scenario of great loss of strategic capacity in the region».
Taking a helicopter is ignoring the «most pressing needs» of the Algarve
As for the INEM helicopter, which was relocated to Beja and replaced by another device, without the same characteristics as a medical emergency, António Eusébio says that with this measure, the Government is ignoring «inadmissibly the most pressing needs » from the Algarve and must therefore correct the situation.
"The Government came forward with an extremely punitive measure for our region without considering any assessment made by specialized technicians, who could point out more profitable solutions for the State and for the Algarve, taking into account that this transfer will entail more costs inherent to the distances to go through the device and, in some cases, it will jeopardize the conditions necessary to ensure the health and life of patients», considered the president of the PS/Algarve.
As for the proposed alternative, “it will not benefit the Algarve at all because, in addition to not having a medical team similar to what happens with the INEM apparatus, the Kamov cannot operate in places like the barrier islands and requires flight procedures which are not compatible with the response times inherent in an emergency and rescue service'.
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