The presentation of the Budget is always a time of reflection for everyone. 

It is an evaluation of what happened in the previous year and the way in which the current challenges will be handled in the coming year. As members of the Executive, we have an added responsibility to see the implication of the government's programme and support our agencies, authorities and departments that - in the main - do sterling work. During this current legislature, the government has repeatedly shown that the 'disability' and 'active aging' agenda are amongst the top priorities in the social policy area. 

In more ways than one, during the coming year the government will be taking concrete and tangible action to ensure that progress is made in these two sectors. For years on end, action in these areas has been postponed and the required changes have not been effected and the much needed action not taken - resulting in unwarranted hardship for the people concerned. 

During the last months, my Secretariat has endeavoured to establish our two points of referral, namely the 'active aging policy' and the 'national disability policy', with the latter to be launched shortly. We wanted to start by laying out the principles, and the measures required, and then proceeding with the action that these sectors deserve. Unless these complex areas of social policy are studied thoroughly and methodically, we will keep taking impulsive crisis-managed decisions rather than planned and structured action that is cost-effective, transparent and will have a lasting impact on our communities.

In the 'active aging' sector, the government has continued to show a strong commitment towards providing more accommodation, extending private-government collaboration and encouraging the private sector to take initiatives in the residential sectors, strengthening and developing new community services, addressing the multifaceted dementia agenda, upgrading services and carrying out infrastructure work at the government's residential homes. We have put in place a programme to improve and modernise the services being offered at our day centres. 

With an aging population and changes in lifestyle resulting in an ever-growing need for residential accommodation, this area remains a priority for the government. As a result, a home for the elderly in Gozo will be providing some 70 rooms. In this way, the people of Gozo can be assured that they will be supported and cared for and also provided with every opportunity to continue developing their qualities and, wherever possible, contributing to society.

As a means of continuing to support the elderly in the community, those over the age of 75 will be given the €300 allowance and the pensions of a number of groups who have historically been the victims of various anomalies in the system will be amended and streamlined to ensure social equity.

All of the above will be complemented by staff training, improving the quality of the services provided in the homes and a continuous dialogue with the elderly to ensure that we are able to respond to their needs, aspirations and concerns. 

In my other area of responsibility, namely disability - and in line with the concept of a 'just society' - we will be unveiling a programme for residential homes for the years to come; we could no longer continue having knee-jerk reactions in this sector. Following the necessary studies and spade-work, the development of a data base that will provide us with the practical information required, establishing statutory standards for residential services and reviewing the legislation regarding people with disability, we are now in a position to begin the process of opening 10 residential homes. Structural work on the first of these will be completed by the end of this year.

These homes will be governed by the principle of personalised services and will encourage independent and community-immersed living. 

But this is not all. We will also shortly be presenting a Trust and Foundations law to help parents safeguard the financial and other resources they want to dedicate to their son or daughter with a disability. 

Another important milestone in this budget is the provision of employment opportunities by strengthening and sanctioning the 1969 law that obliges employers with a staff of more than 20 to ensure that two per cent of their workforce are registered disabled. We are providing for tax credits for those who employ people with a disability and setting a contribution to sustain a training and employment fund for those who do not adhere to the legal obligations that came into force almost 50 years ago. We are also introducing another exciting initiative that is tied to allowing people with a disability to retain their disability pension, even if they are in employment. 

We also welcome the setting up of Social Enterprise, which is another benchmark in attracting people with a disability to active citizenship.

As I said earlier on, this is a sector that is close to the government's social heart.  

A mega project will also see the former Schreiber ground being transformed into a community complex that will also provide resources for the disabled community. 

In this connection, we have invested a great deal of energy in trying and tap into as many EU funds as possible to complement the huge investment that is being provided through national funds.

The way I see it, the economy is only rendered successful if it works for everyone and there can be no respectable economic policy without an equally virtuous social policy.

This is why the government embraces social policies that match the economic realities. We have confidence in the capabilities of the elderly and those with a disability. We don't just provide services and encourage helplessness but - as is shown in this budget - we are concerned that everyone should contribute according to their health and abilities. 

The work to which we are committed is no longer an issue of 'charity', of 'doing the right thing' and that's it. It is now a case of rights, of dignity and of safeguarding the basic needs of all citizens for a good quality of life with the entitlement to dream and the right to pursue those dreams!

 

Dr Caruana is the Parliamentary Secretary for the Right of People with Disability and Active Ageing