2 million euros allocated for fire victims were not paid: Tribunal de Contas reveals delays in disaster aid

Serious implementation problems have emerged in the mechanisms established in Portugal to provide emergency support to families affected by fire, floods and other natural disasters. According to Tribunal de Contas' review of 2025 state accounts, some supports were delayed for months, while aids foreseen for some disasters were never paid.

One of the most striking examples is the rural fires on August 4 and 5, 2023.

A budget of 2 million euros was envisaged to help families affected by these fires. However, the regulatory framework necessary to implement the aid was never published.

As a result, families were not paid from the allocated money within the scope of this mechanism.

Only 1,347 million euros paid for five disasters

The period examined by Tribunal de Contas covers the years 2022-2025.

During this period, extraordinary aid was created to meet the food, shelter and other urgent needs of families for five different disasters.

However, the total aid actually paid was approximately 1,347 million euros.

Almost all of this amount — around 1,333 million euros — was paid out following the rural fires in August 2022.

Approximately 13 thousand euros of payments were recorded for the September 2024 fires.

In contrast, no payments were recorded in the extraordinary family assistance category examined for the December 2022–January 2023 floods and floods, the August 4–5, 2023 fires, and the July–August 2025 fires.

It's not just a lack of budget

at the Tribunal The important aspect of Contas's determination emerges here.

In some cases, although money was provided for aid, failure to complete legislation or implementation procedures on time prevented aid from reaching those in need.

In the 2 million euro example of the 2023 fires, the problem is not that there are no resources in the budget; The necessary regulation for the use of aid was not published.

Tribunal de Contas states that disaster aid by its nature must be rapid, and that delay undermines the main purpose of the support.

Because the aid in question is not long-term reconstruction investments; It is designed for emergency expenses such as food, temporary shelter and basic needs.

System replaced in 2025

In this process, the government changed the legal structure of disaster aid.

In the previous system, after a disaster occurred, it would be necessary to declare calamidade, prepare a new regulation determining extraordinary measures, and then issue a portaria for implementation.

The approach was changed with Decreto-Lei n.º 98-A/2025.

Extraordinary measures are now defined in advance within the legal framework; When a certain disaster occurs, the dates and in which regions it will be implemented can be determined by the decision of Conselho de Ministros.

The aim is to reduce the delay caused by rebuilding the entire mechanism after each new disaster.

What it means for fire victims is it coming?

The Tribunal de Contas report does not say that the lack of payment in past disasters means that all victims today can automatically claim certain compensation.

The legal scope, disaster date, region, type of damage and application conditions for each aid are different.

However, the report documents a significant public administration problem: Although money was allocated for some families, the aid mechanism could not be operated on time.

The real test of the new system will be how quickly aid will be delivered after the next major disaster, compared to previous years.

Resources

Tribunal de Contas — Parecer sobre a Conta Geral do Estado de 2025

ECO — Salomé Pinto, 29 September 2026

https://eco.sapo.pt/2026/09/29/tribunal-de-contas-alerta-para-atrasos-nos-apoios-as-vitimas-de-calamidades-subsidios-demoraram-ou-nem-chegaram-a-ser-pagos/

Público — Catarina Pinho, October 5, 2026