IL demands urgent parliamentary hearing for interior minister over Construbarcelos contracts
Iniciativa Liberal demands that Minister of Internal Administration Luís Neves appear before parliament's Permanent Commission urgently, as controversy over contracts with construction firm Construbarcelos deepens.
The controversy
The dispute began on 10 July when weekly Nascer do Sol reported that Minister of Internal Administration Luís Neves had hired construction company Construbarcelos to remodel a property he owns in Odemira. The same firm had previously carried out works for the Judicial Police (PJ) while Neves served as its national director. Between 2020 and 2025, Construbarcelos received around €1.9 million in public contracts, a figure the minister later confirmed.
On 18 July, the PJ announced it had opened an inquiry into a trailer seized in a drug trafficking case that was found attached to a truck belonging to Construbarcelos. The Attorney General's Office (PGR) confirmed the existence of an inquiry related to assets seized under "Operação Pacoba."
- Nascer do Sol reports that Minister Neves hired Construbarcelos for works on his Odemira property
- PJ opens inquiry into trailer seized in drug case found attached to Construbarcelos truck
- IL submits request for urgent Permanent Commission hearing of Luís Neves
- Scheduled Permanent Commission meeting (unless moved earlier)
IL demands urgent hearing
Iniciativa Liberal (IL) leader Mariana Leitão told journalists on 24 July that the party had submitted a request to the President of the Assembly, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, to convene a Permanent Commission hearing with the minister as soon as possible.
We need urgent clarifications. The Minister of Internal Administration may think he will give them whenever he wants, but we want them now and therefore we submitted a request to convene a leaders' conference to schedule a Permanent Commission as soon as possible so that the minister can go to Parliament and explain everything there is to explain.
The request, seen by Lusa news agency, asks for the hearing "on the publicly reported facts relating to the exercise of the functions of National Director of the Judicial Police and the works carried out on a property he owns in the municipality of Odemira." It cites three reasons for urgency: the parliamentary calendar (the plenary is in recess until September, and waiting would mean nearly two months without scrutiny), the rapid evolution of facts (between 10 and 23 July the case grew from a single news report to multiple developments), and the risk to institutional trust.
Political reactions
Leitão criticised what she called "the silence that has been the hallmark" of both the minister and the prime minister in recent weeks. She argued that this silence undermines institutions and the democratic rule of law.
I honestly do not understand how the Minister of Internal Administration sees this happening day after day, sees news about himself day after day and thinks he will only give clarifications when he feels like it. It is not when he feels like it, he has an added responsibility and that responsibility is to the Portuguese people and therefore explanations are due.
The Permanent Commission, the body that ensures Parliament functions outside normal working periods, is chaired by the President of the Assembly and composed of vice-presidents and deputies from all parties. It is currently scheduled to meet on 9 September, but IL wants an earlier date.
What happens next
The IL request has been formally submitted. A leaders' conference may now be convened to decide whether to bring forward the hearing. The controversy continues to generate new developments, with the PJ inquiry into the seized trailer adding a criminal dimension to the political scrutiny.
