"We have to find ways to make things more flexible, because otherwise we will have a very, very serious problem because the institutions will not be able to update, they will not be able to remodel themselves, they will not be able to take a step forward and we need the institutions because without them we have no answer", defended Catarina Marcelino, making it clear that this is a personal position that does not bind the Social Security Institute.

In Vila Nova de Gaia, where she participated as a speaker in the XIV National Mutualism Congress, the former Secretary of State for Citizenship and Equality in the first Government led by António Costa, painted a "dramatic" picture of the conditions of the built heritage of many institutions in the social sector for which she defends "exceptions".

"Today we are faced with a serious problem, especially in cities, so in Lisbon this is dramatic. They are buildings where social responses have been installed that are completely inadequate - often they never were - to what the legal requirements are for a social response", Catarina Marcelino began by assuming, answering a question from the audience.

In her personal opinion, which does not bind the Social Security Institute, she reiterated, the country must have "the capacity to have exceptions defined by law" as once happened with nursing homes, for which, at a certain point, there was "annex 2 which allowed, for some situations, less demand".

"We should have a kind of annex 2 for some social responses that allows for flexibility, because we cannot close the responses. We cannot close them and if we close them, we have nowhere else to install them, despite the fact that the local authorities are fantastic partners in finding solutions", she said, stressing that if we do not do so, Portugal will have "a very, very serious problem".

In response to the interpellation, which also addressed the issue of the funding model for the Home Support Service (SAD), the leader acknowledged that it is necessary to rethink this model if we want to have services "tailored" to people's needs.

Catarina Marcelino recalled that the previous Government led by the socialist António Costa, undertook, within the framework of the cooperation pact for Social Solidarity, to seek that the funding of the institutions reaches at least 50% of the response participation, recognizing that "there are many social responses that are being underfunded".

"Obviously, this then creates imbalances, inequalities and the ERPI [Residential Structure for Elderly People] with the needs we have today, is one of the responses that needs the most, despite the fact that the updates have been, lately, higher in an attempt to seek this path", she concluded, noting that there is still a long way to go.

Catarina Marcelino was one of the speakers invited by the Union of Portuguese Mutualities to discuss the paths to a more sustainable future, at a congress with contributions from two former ministers, António Costa Silva and Tiago Brandão Rodrigues; two former Secretaries of State Marco António Costa and Agostinho Branquinho and the president of the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities, Luísa Salgueiro, among others.

This morning, at the opening session, which she chaired, the Minister of Solidarity and Social Security guaranteed that she is studying the amendment to the Code of Mutualist Associations and the regime of Social Pharmacies demanded by these institutions, reiterating her commitment to work with the social sector.

"Several things are being studied that could, some of them, have been done by the previous government. We are resuming the processes and everything will follow its course", guaranteed Rosário Palma Ramalho, in statements to journalists.

Leia Também: "Falta de humanismo". Ex-governante do PSD defende união de 3 ministérios (Portuguese version)