As a Catholic, civilised country, we like to think that our respect for the disabled is real, and pay more than just lip service to political correctness. But what is it in practice? A case in point will answer that question.

On 6 June of last year I addressed a complaint to the St Paul’s Bay Local Council re illegal parking in the parking space reserved for disabled persons at the corner of Parish Street. Innumerable vehicles have been abusing this reserved parking at all times of the day, every day, for several years.

The local council’s answer was that they did not have enough wardens to monitor all the reserved parking spaces in the locality. However, if the parking space in question is only a minutes walk away from the local council premises (in fact the corner in question is just down the road from its premises), why are so many people allowed to abuse this parking space with seeming impunity?

This parking space is also next to a political club, a bar and a band club, whose patrons are some of the most frequent offenders, not to mention street-vendors who use that reserved space at regular times every day. Therefore, the council’s excuses can’t really be taken seriously. It looks as if this parking space is for the convenience of everybody – everybody except disabled people. Surely one cannot credibly claim to be taking care of an entire locality if one can’t even keep one’s own doorstep clean.

Dr Michael Gonzi also took the matter up. In mid-October last year he addressed a parliamentary question asking how many parking tickets were issued to vehicles that parked in this particular space reserved for the disabled. To date, this information is still not forthcoming – although I have already formed my own opinion of how many or how few parking tickets were in fact issued, given that illegal parking in this particular reserved space continues unabated.

Damian Schembri

ZEBBUG