The President of the Government of the Azores announced today an estimated investment over 10 million Euros in the support to the elderly next year. It mainly covers the expansion and renovation of infrastructures as well as the enhancement and extension of home support services.

"The main priority for 2015 is to extend the network of infrastructures and renovate the existing buildings in order to ensure the adequate comfort conditions for users as well as to boost the work efficiency of employees," said Vasco Cordeiro. The President of the Government spoke at the signing of the Cooperation Contract for the Creation of the Night Centre in Piedade, municipality of Lajes do Pico.

On the second day of the statutory visit to the island of Pico, the President of the Government also announced that, next year, the Government is committed to reinforcing alternative responses to the institutionalisation of the elderly by enhancing and extending the coverage rate of home support and the network of day centres.

In his speech, Vasco Cordeiro stressed that investment in infrastructure is not limited to the Government's intervention in this type of social support, as it is one of the components of the work that is being carried out, often in partnership with institutions, to better the Azorean elderly population.

"The Government will also maintain and reinforce other measures, such as the Regional Pension Supplement, which covered over 34 thousand seniors in the Azores in 2013; the Government allocated a global amount of 24 million Euros to measure." The President of the Government also reminded that the support to the purchase of medicines (COMPAMID) benefited over 6,700 seniors.

Vasco Cordeiro stressed that the importance the Government attaches to this area has resulted in the increasing of funds for cooperation contracts signed with Private Social Solidarity Institutions to an amount exceeding 52 million Euros.

"In this challenging context we live in, the question is not so much whether there are Azorean citizens in need of help. The question is whether to know if we have a Government that goes to the limit of its powers and resources to help these people," said Vasco Cordeiro.

"The question is not so much whether to know if we are being affected by this crisis that has hit us. Sometimes, we do not have the mechanisms to avoid it. The question is whether we reinforce the means to help the Azoreans who need it most," the President of the Government said, reiterating that the "answer is yes."

Vasco Cordeiro also paid tribute and publicly acknowledged the 240 institutions and the four thousands workers, who provide, often away from media coverage, more than 700 social response services throughout the archipelago.

An investment of about one million Euros, the construction of a night centre in Piedade will extend its response capacity to a larger number of elderly citizens in the municipality of Lajes do Pico.