News from afpop

Good afternoon to you all and welcome to this week’s Briefing, which is a day earlier than usual due to the Easter break tomorrow. Marisa and I enjoyed the trip to Cascais last week for our presentation with Alzheimer’s Portugal and thank you to those of you who were able to join us. Sadly due to the train schedules the trip was very rushed and we didn’t have the time we’d have liked to have spoken to you all after the presentations. It was great to see you all and next time we’ll make sure there’s more time.

The final date for land clearance is 31^st of May. After that time the local authorities can start clearing any land still not done and send the landowner the invoice for the work.  My suggestion is that you don’t wait for a final date and if you have to clear some land, do it now.  

As Easter weekend is upon us, you might be thinking of what the Portuguese might do to celebrate and there are of course many festivities across the country. These websites have details of some from the top to the bottom of the country. https://lisboasecreta.co/en/easter-holidays-in-portugal and https://www.visitportugal.com/en/node/206661.

So now, with our wishes for a pleasant Easter and a slightly shorter Briefing than usual this week and with news of a change in day for the Lagos satellite in April, here is this week’s information:

Speed limit Avenida Marginal

The speed limit has been reduced on the Avenida Marginal, which connects Lisbon to Cascais, to 50 km/h along its entire length. This change is part of efforts to improve road safety following several accidents. There haven't been any announcements about nationwide changes to speed limits.

Motorcycles

The law came into force end of March with changes in the Highway Code concerning motorcycles.

The changes include:

• amendments to allow motorcycles to circulate in all bus lanes, previously this would be up to the municipalities to decide.

• By the end of 2025, urban parking lots must reserve at least 5% of their capacity for motorcycles

A specific class (Classe 5) for motorcycles at toll booths is created by Via Verde with a 30% reduction of toll payments, except on the Vasco da Gama Bridge. Non-Via Verde users will be charged according to Classe 1.

Living in the Algarve

We will be present again at the Living in the Algarve seminar that takes place on Thursday the 24^th of April in Carvoeiro at the Tivoli hotel. To reserve a place at the event or for more information, visit their website https://www.livinginthealgarve.pt/ 

IRS declarations

A reminder that the submission of your Income Tax return (IRS) must be done online through the Finanças portal between the 1^st of April and the 30^th of June. 

Members may already be aware that in an effort to strengthen funding for charitable, religious, cultural and environmental institutions, that the IRS allocation (consignação de IRS) allows taxpayers to allocate a portion of their tax to an entity of their choice. Instead of your IRS being entirely in the hands of the State, a portion is channelled by the State itself to support a cause of your choice. 

This mechanism is simple: when filling out the Income Tax return (IRS declaration), you can select the entity you wish to benefit from, at no additional cost. The measure is optional and does not interfere with the amount of tax to be paid or received, but redirects a small portion of the revenue for specific purposes.

Only entities previously registered and authorised by the Tax and Customs Authority can receive the IRS allocation. To check the complete list of eligible entities, please login in to www.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt and follow the steps:

Dados agregado IRS – Comunicar Entidade a Consignar IRS/IVA and click on the search icon to select the institution you wish to donate to.

Hospital emergencies map

Several public hospital emergency departments will be closed this weekend, due to lack of specialists. There is an interactive map, which we have published before, where you can check if the emergency service in your area is open.

Consultation of available emergency services and their respective opening times on the Continent are at https://www.sns.gov.pt/servicos-de-urgencia-sns 

You can search by type of emergency, by region, by local health unit and quickly find out which hospitals are closest to where the emergency services they are looking for are accessible. The data will be updated hourly. 

Train strikes

Several unions representing CP – Comboios de Portugal workers handed in a strike notice on Tuesday, for the 7^th and 8^th of May, against the imposition of salary increases and other demands. The strike will take place between 00:00 on the 7^th of May and 24:00 on the 8^th of May. There will be a meeting with the CP management today (17^th) to see if the strike can be avoided. Anyone expecting to travel by train on the 7^th or 8^th of May should check the CP website. 

There are ongoing disruptions until the 2^nd of May, especially on the Intercidades and Regional Beja and Regional Algarve Line services. More information can be found here: https://www.cp.pt/passageiros/pt/consultar-horarios/avisos/greve

AFPOP Presents… 

A reminder that the AFPOP Presents programme in May and June is focused on Women's Health - Breast Wellness. This topic it will be presented twice in the Algarve area. The first one it will be held in Lagos on the 9th of May and the second one in Tavira on 9th of June (both in the morning time) in conjunction with Associação Oncológica do Algarve. For those interested, please register via e-mail: apoio@afpop.com 

Holidays in April reminder

Good Friday (Sexta-feira Santa) on the 18^th of April and the Freedom Day (Dia da Liberdade) on the 25^th of April are national holidays. Easter (Páscoa) falls on 20^th of April.

Please note that some public services, which are not considered to be “of public interest” might close during the afternoon (Today 17^th and 24^th), due to the “holiday period” given by the Government, so be prepared if you intend to visit any public entity on those days also. 

The afpop office will be closed on the 18^th and the 25^th of April.

Satellite Offices 

If you need advice or assistance, wish to introduce a new Member to the Association, need to renew your subscription or just have a general query, please pass by and see us. We ask you to make an appointment and to inform us about your enquiry, so staff can come prepared to assist you. Please contact the afpop office to make an appointment on 282 458 509 or info@afpop.com.   

PLEASE NOTE that due to other requirements, the Lagos satellite day has been changed in April to Monday instead of the usual Wednesday. So, the next dates of the Satellites are:

• Lagos - Monday 28^th of April between 10h00 and 12h30 (premises of MediLagos on R. José Ferreira Canelas, which is behind the Câmara building)

• Almancil - Tuesday 29^th of Aprilbetween 10h00 and 12h30 (premises of MEDAL Seguros)