“So far not a single cent has arrived [in Madeira] from the Government of the Republic to support victims of the fires,” that occurred in the second week of August 2016 in Madeira, she said in the Madeiran Assembly.

Jesus said that, of the €12 million pledged by the government, “more than half is in loans.”

“The problem is access, the central issue is that 30% of families affected have been barred from accessing because of income issue,” she said, adding that the Country’s proposal to create a regional programme to deal with this situation, “is once again nothing more than an intention.”

“How do we create our own programme without funds?” she asked.

The wildfires in Madeira in August 2016 killed three people, seriously injured one and led to dozens of people becoming homeless, damage to 251 properties and material losses valued at €157 million.