With fire stations already claiming they are owed well over €20 million for ‘extraordinary expenses’ incurred through the worst of the summer’s wildfires, the Inspectorate-General of Finance (IGF) has found more than 75,000 unvalidated documents at INEM (institute of medical emergencies) relating to payments to firefighters and the Red Cross.
The discovery “points to a lack of transparency, poor accountability and the risk of double funding”, says the IGF.
The audit (requested by the government), mainly analyses the period 2021/2024. It states that the funding of the fire brigade and the Portuguese Red Cross (CVP) is based on individual protocols and orders and various schemes, including cases ‘without a clear regulatory framework’, and points to ‘significant weaknesses’ in the process of checking subsidies paid by the protocols.
Of the 75,492 documents (entries) pending completion by partners or verification/validation by INEM (69,512 and 5,980, respectively), it indicates that the oldest date back to 2022 and that the institute has committed to developing a platform to resolve and prevent these situations.
It also states that there are no mechanisms in place for communication with other public entities that also grant subsidies to firefighters and CVP – despite the ‘risk of double funding and overlapping financial support’.
According to the document, current transfers from INEM increased in the four years analysed, representing 53% (€89.2 million) of total expenditure last year.
These transfers mainly refer to payments associated with the establishment and maintenance of Emergency Medical Posts (PEM) and Reserve Posts (PR), with the Humanitarian Associations of Volunteer Firefighters (AHBV) being the main recipients (€74.9 million in 2024), compared to other stakeholders, such as municipalities and the CVP.
INEM may need more money
Considering the data for the first four months of this year, the IGF admits that it may be necessary to boost public funding or, ultimately, to change the rules to increase the percentage allocated to INEM on insurance premiums, in order to ensure budgetary balance.
“Given the current trend in expenditure for 2025 and new costs incurred, the current estimate of own revenue (2.5% of premiums or contributions relating to insurance contracts, as stipulated in the respective Organic Law) may prove insufficient to cover all of INEM’s financial needs, including those arising from the planned reinforcement of human resources,” it says.
The use of previous management balances may also prove essential to ensure an adequate budgetary balance.
According to the IGF, the cost of INEM for each Portuguese citizen has increased by more than 45%, from €11 (2021) to €16 (2024).
In turn, the cost per patient assisted increased by 29%, from €91 in 2021 to €117 last year.
Without significant changes in the evolution of Portuguese demographics, the growing trend in the per capita cost of pre-hospital emergency system is largely the result of updates to protocols with the Firefighters League and increases in the prices of goods and services, says the IGF, which points to the need to identify savings for ‘more economical management of resources’.
€25.2 million financial impact with new agreement with LBP
As for the new cooperation agreement signed earlier this year with the Portuguese Firefighters League, the IGF estimates a financial impact of €25.2 million, stressing that it is not fully accommodated in the 2025 budget and that a budget increase may be necessary.
It also points out that this agreement is dependent on studies being carried out and essential records and systems being adapted, such as the ‘application of penalties provided for’.
As for crew requirements and ambulance certification, the IGF points to the lack of systematic and regular procedures for evaluating the activity of PEM and PR, including the effectiveness and quality of pre-hospital care.
It adds that in 2023 and 2024 there were more than 2,000 refusals to deploy resources and more than 18,000 cases of inoperability, relating to failures to comply with protocols, which did not provide for any penalties for these occurrences.
Source: LUSA
