The Minister of Justice admitted on Monday that he has increased some legal costs as a form of rationalization and management and “stopping abuses”, with the PSD accusing the minister of doing the opposite of what the PS had promised in the election manifesto.
When discussing the 2024 State Budget (OE2024) in the specialty for the Justice sector, Social Democratic Deputy Mónica Quintela questioned the Minister of Justice, Catarina Sarmento e Castro, about the Socialist election promise of reducing legal costs, citing the explanatory memorandum of the OE2024 sent to Parliament, which admits the rationalization of tariffs, also asking whether the government is preparing to fail to fulfill its election promise, by increasing tariffs that are currently “not adjusted to the impoverished country we have” and “to keep citizens from turning to the courts.”
The minister admitted the intention of “cost rationalization” and emphasized that there are cases where compensation should be paid “download where it is necessary to download and if it is necessary to stop the overuse of certain mechanisms, given these circumstances it may be possible to go up”stressing that any increases will target cases that “could be considered abusive”.
“It will be this government team that makes changes to this law in a rational manner”he said.
Mónica Quintela also questioned the Minister about the impact of strikes by judicial employees in the courts and about a possible plan to resolve outstanding issues, with the Minister of Justice answering that the greatest impact was mainly felt during the period of atypical strikes by judicial staff. , which were later deemed unlawful by an opinion from the Advisory Council of the Public Prosecution Service.
“After this decision, other forms of struggle were developed that did not have such a great impact”said the minister.
The Social Democratic deputy also asked about the plan for the building and the rental prices paid in the Justice sector, namely the Justice Campus in Lisbon, whose contract expires in 2026 and which has a monthly cost of 1.2 million euros, and the case of the Boa -Hora Court, in Lisbon, transferred by protocol to bodies of the Ministry of Culture.
“How can the Department of Justice afford to borrow something and then pay this rent?”asked Mónica Quintela, with the minister insisting that the multi-annual plan for the construction of justice brought the sector “planning and management”, including the use of European funds, identifying intervention priorities, such as the Court of Vila Franca de Xira, currently they operate in containers and buildings for use and for sale.
In a response to Socialist deputy Joana Sá Pereira, the minister would mention that a saving of 2.8 million euros in rent is expected with work in several neighborhoods.
Joana Sá Pereira listed investments and priority lines of intervention, namely in the fight against corruption, strengthening human resources, invoking a socialist “historical legacy” in the fight against economic crime and abandoning attacks on the PSD, with she stated that in terms of human resources “The curriculum of the PSD is to cut holiday allowances and freeze progress” and that in terms of procedural pending issues they are now about a third of the over 1.6 million there were in 2012, when the Social Democrats were still in government.
“We remember well the time when the choice was which courts to close, now it is the choice which ones to requalify”said the deputy.
Marcos Perestrello (PS) would continue the attack on the PSD, with accusations of “budgetary cynicism” and “political cynicism” by accusing Mónica Quintela of giving a speech in the specialty that differed from the generalist speech, for the country, the party and the social democratic leader, who asks for more money and investments, without explaining where they will get this money from.
“It is this contrast between what is being said to the country and what people come here to whisper in committee with only the Justice sector listening that I call budgetary cynicism, and it is political cynicism to talk about unresolved issues when they are currently in the third phase. from what they were when the PSD had responsibilities and political cynicism when they talked about the fight against corruption.”he accused.
According to Chega, deputy Pedro Pinto accused the minister of parachuting into the government and not doing anything to solve the sector’s problems, questioning what solutions the OE2024 brings to court.
“We may have the biggest budget ever, but we don’t see it. I hope I’m wrong”he said, after the minister responded with investments planned for 2024 in human resources, buildings and technological resources.
Catarina Sarmento e Castro accused Pedro Pinto of being “distracted”, after asking about the resources at the Institute of Registers and Notaries (IRN), stating that competitions are being organized for hundreds of new employees, adding that the 75 transferred workers from the extinct Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) “is a perfectly affordable number” for the tasks they will have to perform.
Pedro Pinto refused to distract himself or that of the unions in the sector, referring to the protest of the Union of Registry and Notary Workers (STRN) this afternoon in front of Parliament, where they placed a coffin, a symbol of the death of the sector. and the queues registering at passport issuing services.
Source: DN
