According to data sent to the Lusa news agency, €408,939.82 was allocated to rent (€336,132 in 2024), while €113,475.34 was allocated to the purchase of medicines, benefiting 549 citizens.

The Municipal Social Emergency Fund provided a round sum of €100,000 to 62 residents.

Ad hoc financial support amounted to €65,575.28 (106 beneficiaries), Taxi 65+ €13,561.60 (106 people) and social emergency support €9,745.22, reaching 144 residents.

Taxi 65+ is a service promoted by the municipality of Leiria that provides taxi transport for people over 65 years of age for trips to hospital or health centre appointments, treatments, complementary diagnostic tests, and hospital admissions.

Ana Valentim clarified that, in the case of rent support, the beneficiaries are mostly Portuguese, with households characterised as nuclear or single-parent, and employed.

In the case of co-payment for the purchase of medicines, Portuguese citizens also predominate, with households described as isolated and nuclear, consisting of pensioners or unemployed people.

In these areas, support totalled €711,562.57 for 1,246 people and €3,322,540.44 for 82 social-sector entities, for a total of €4,034,103.01.

In 2024, support for social sector entities amounted to €2.4 million.

“The increase in the amount for social sector entities is related to the construction of nurseries. The aim was to encourage institutions to apply and increase their response capacity in this area,” said Ana Valentim.

The mayor also stressed that it is “important to mention the support, under PARES [Programme for the Expansion of the Social Facilities Network], to three organisations for the expansion of care homes”.

This includes support for the Cooperative for the Education and Rehabilitation of Maladjusted Citizens of Leiria (Cercilei) for the construction of a residential home, a social response that has a “low coverage rate, and Leiria is no exception.”

The councillor responsible for social development explained that in 2025, there was a slight decrease in requests for support from foreign families residing in the municipality compared to 2024.

Noting that housing and medication were the areas with the most requests for help from the Council, Ana Valentim said that, in social matters, housing is the area that most concerns the municipality.

In this regard, she said that the local authority plans to “increase the scope of the Rent Subsidy Programme and strengthen projects aimed at specific groups”.

On 31 December 2025, the municipality had registered 166 social housing applications, up from 128 in the previous year, with no increase in delays in the payment of social housing rents.

The mayor added that this year the total amount allocated to social welfare is €3.5 million.