This week we had some good news with regards to one of our main projects at St Vincent de Paul. Without doubt, the residence's kitchen has proved quite a contentious issue. Last July, I announced that the kitchen had to be closed for good, due to very poor standards and the premises' terrible condition, which presented a health hazard for both staff and residents. The health authorities issued a grade 'F' report and therefore, the decision had to be taken. I must say that it was a long-overdue decision, since the recommendations made were made years earlier.

Last Wednesday, Mepa issued the associated permits and we can now proceed with the call for tenders to demolish the structures in question and build a new, state-of-the-art kitchen at St Vincent de Paul.

I have a firm grasp of what being an Opposition spokesperson entails. After all, I occupied the role myself in the past. In fact, in a true democracy, it is extremely healthy to have a vigilant Opposition keeping government on its toes. This week however, my Opposition counterparts failed me, in that they called a press conference to address issues in a puerile manner.

They  claimed that older persons were being cared for in dining areas and that dining areas were therefore not available for the residents to enjoy their free time in. This is untrue, as all the wards - even those with temporary beds - have designated dining areas and the residents may eat wherever they like.

With regards to couple wards at St Vincent de Paul, the Opposition mentioned one case. Couple rooms in the facility are very limited, although we are also increasing them, so as to address the demand. In fact, the new ward, SJ2, consists of a couples' facility.

It is very easy for the Opposition to point fingers, but the crude reality is that we are still in a phase in which we are paying a huge price for the previous government's lack of foresight and planning. This Government is tackling the immediate crises but is also looking at the long term; and time will tell.

The Opposition's spokesperson on the elderly also claimed that staff in day centres were removed or transferred. This is not the case. An exam was introduced for supervisors and the department will utilise these supervisors where it deems fit. Our day centres were transformed into learning hubs to improve the quality of the service given and that is our main concern, not who is where, like it used to be for previous administrations. We want our day centres to be a healthy experience.

In Parliament this week, amongst other things, I mentioned that a Dementia Centre in Gozo is in the pipeline. More information about the service will be given in the coming weeks and it will be the first in a series of national projects. This Gozo Centre is part of our wider vision to cater for more older persons in Gozo, due to a lack of services being delivered, particularly community-based services. In fact, the night shelter is scheduled to start functioning in a couple of weeks, while respite services and long-term care beds are already being availed of.

This week,  I had also presented to the media the United Nations Convention State Report, which gives us a clear overview of the disability sector in Malta. The report is very analytical and critical, bluntly outlining the relevant strengths but also, and especially, the weaknesses.

The UNCRPD report was presented to the UN last November, before the Budget. The UNCRPD report is now to be scrutinised by the UN, however it falls in line with the Government's National Policy on Rights of Persons with Disability, launched last December. So, over the years, the Government will tackle the same sections mentioned in the report. During the press conference, I made specific mention of the Deaf sector. In fact, on the same day, the Police Commissioner announced a new SMS emergency number; an initiative in light of which we collaborated with the police as a secretariat - in fact, this was also mentioned in our state report. This shows that the creation of this secretariat is bringing on board various stakeholders to address various needs in a holistic manner.