Prime Minister asks for serenity regarding the fires

The Prime Minister asked for serenity and "a sense of national unity" so "we can all collaborate towards solving a dramatic situation that concerns us all", while referring to the wildland fires that hit the country in the summertime.

Luís Montenegro noted that "when we are confronted with distress, we want the answer close to us and that is legitimate", adding that "it is undeniable" that "we are making that effort".

The Minister of Economy and Social Cohesion Castro Almeida is already working on "the support to be given after the wildland fires are resolved so that people can quickly resume the conditions for their lives to go back to normal «".

The Prime Minister, who made this statement in the village of Sanfins, Valpaços, where he opened the Alzheimer and Parkison Centre of Relevance, stressed that this year, Portugal allocated the "largest mechanism ever" and "is ready to face the many requests which, unfortunately, always happen on the days when the weather conditions are worse".

Repression

"We have had an increasingly intense and multidisciplinary prevention policy", he said, adding that the Government has "acted on prevention, forest planning", and there is "a forestry plan that includes these items.

At the same time, one must act "with a firm repression policy" to deter those responsible for setting the fires, noting "the increase from two to five criminal investigation teams for this year, with all the law enforcement agencies interacting, at the head of which is the Criminal Police, which has yielded effect and will continue to be a priority for the Government and law enforcement".

Protecting people

Luís Montenegro noted that the means in the mechanism are enough albeit limited "and it will always be difficult to manage them", namely during a crisis.

"During these times, it is not worth focusing on polemic rather than concentrating on fighting the fires and protecting the people, their lives, as well as their estate", which does not mean we shouldn’t scrutinise all the decisions, yet refusing to "contribute to fuelling the feelings of unrest felt by the populations".