Leiria, Portugal, Feb. 27, 2026 (Lusa) - The mayor of Leiria has accused the government of throwing the inspection of applications for housing reconstruction following the recent storms at local authorities without questioning whether they were in a position to do so.
"We were thrown to the front line to solve a problem without being asked if we were in a position to do so, nor was there any negotiation with us about how it should be done. People rushed to submit their applications because they need money, and now I can't analyse them as quickly as the government said they had to be analysed. If they wanted to analyse them that quickly, they should have taken on that responsibility," said Gonçalo Lopes.
In an interview with the Lusa news agency, one month after the Kristin depression hit the district, Gonçalo Lopes pointed out that "the government announced something that is impossible to fulfil without first consulting" the local authorities.
Financial support to repair the damage caused by the Kristin depression to homes is granted within a maximum of three working days for expenses up to €5,000 (with photographs), which do not require inspection, and within 15 working days for the rest.
On the other hand, the mayor said that "the submission forms are being systematically changed, the requirements are changed every day," giving the example of the declaration of no tax debts.
"They ask that the process not be bureaucratic and they are making it bureaucratic, which means that the councils have more work," he criticised.
According to Gonçalo Lopes, the local council of Leiria "currently has 30% of the requests for the entire region, for the entire affected area, which is 6,000 applications," and has 10 people working in the urban planning department.
The mayor explained that he had contacted experts and expert companies to work for the council, without success, because they are working for insurance companies, and he also contacted insurance companies to ask if they could provide experts. Again, without success.
"Once again, we were left with a problem. But it was not a negotiated problem, it was imposed," he said.
On Wednesday, the local authority sent letters to councils that supported Leiria immediately after the impact of Storm Kristin, stating that the local authority is available to "receive people for a week, two weeks, three weeks, whatever time is necessary so as not to inconvenience" them, offering, in exchange, accommodation and meals to technicians, especially engineers, to participate in the expert assessments.
This is followed by a challenge to all higher education institutions that offer civil engineering, so that teachers and student "can help in the informal analysis of some of these processes," continued Gonçalo Lopes.
He added that the local authority already has "several dozen engineers and architects willing to participate" in this work, under the agreement with the respective professional associations and the Intermunicipal Community of the Leiria Region, and the aim is to "expand this involvement" to make the process "faster".
Otherwise, "it will be a problem" for the local authority in the coming weeks, he anticipated.
"We will have people coming to the Council asking “how is my case going?”’, he added, considering, on the other hand, that this matter cannot be treated lightly, recalling the reconstruction of houses after the 2017 fires in Pedrógão Grande, which triggered legal proceedings and convictions, including of local authorities.
In this regard, he pointed to the risks of incompatibilities between local authorities and technicians in validating support for the reconstruction of houses and admitted that applications may come in with "photographs that may not be associated with the storm" or with inflated budgets.
"And if we validate such an expense, such support, what will they say about us? Incompetent? Is it just a scam? They failed," he asked, ensuring the creation of "maximum conditions" for "fair decisions".
Challenged to rate the work of the Government, led by Social Democrat Luís Montenegro, in the wake of the bad weather, Gonçalo Lopes (PS) considered that "any rating I give will always be unfair to the Government".
"What's more, if I give a rating, it could harm Leiria," he said, leaving the assessment of the government's performance to the citizens.
"I want the government to govern the country well, that's all I need, that's what we all want. If it governs well, the local authorities will have better conditions," he added.
SR/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
