Malta placed among the top five European States where minors binge drink. Three per cent of Maltese 11-year-olds, eight per cent of 13-year-olds, and 16 per cent of 14-year-olds have got drunk on numerous occasions – an EU survey shows. This was highlighted by the opposition’s main spokesperson on women’s rights and the civil service, Helena Dalli, in a parliamentary debate on the Amendment Bill to the Code of Police Laws. The bill establishes the age at which alcohol consumption and possession may occur legally, that being 16; those caught breaking this law are liable to penalties of not more than Lm25, compulsory attendance of specially tailored awareness programmes, or community work. It also sets the penalties for those caught providing an underage youth with alcoholic beverage, fines which may amount to anything between Lm100 and Lm500.

“One does not need to read the results of these surveys, you can walk in the streets of Paceville, and the reality is more than evident,” said Mrs Dalli, reminding all of the consequences of such abuse, and the lessons that needed learning, evidenced by the girl who died on New Year’s Eve last year. She assured the party in government that the MLP is in agreement with the law, yet it was felt that more attention needed to be given to its enforcement. “Prevention is better than cure.” Mrs Dalli stressed that children needed to be educated that “it is not cool to drink,” that there needs to be a change of culture, and that curfews should be legally enforced.

Mario Galea, PN’s whip, confessed that his opinion on the proposed amendment was a dissenting one, meaning no disrespect towards his colleagues. He considered certain measures adopted in the bill ones of panic. Though the establishment of the age limit was a very positive step, he felt that the law did not hit the grassroots of the “underage drinking” problem – culture. Stressing that we live in a culture wherein drink intrinsically surrounds us in our everyday lives through religion, sport and the media particularly, Mr Galea believed that unless culture at its core was attacked, the situation would stay as is. “You do what I say, and not what I do,” is not the way to change, he continued. Like Dr Michael Gonzi, he also thought that taking a child to court was preposterous, passing comments on the fact that the law does not distinguish between a habitual drinker, and one who just happened to be handed an alcoholic beverage. “We cannot end up with a worse situation, where children will drink underground,” he emphasised.

Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on European and Foreign Affairs, Jason Azzopardi made some clarifications upon the ambit of penalties, pointing out that the law mostly affected “Drink Entrepreneurs”, adding that he was of the firm conviction that penalties imposed on “Alcohol to Minor Suppliers” should be harsher. “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going – the law deals with today’s current situation radically.” Dr Azzopardi pressed that there was a need to legislate to fight the problem, drink having been shown to be a major source of youth violence.

Minister for Family and Social Solidarity, Dolores Cristina, closing the debate, commended the discussion, saying it was a fruitful stepping stone for the Committee Stage of the Amendment, where suggestions and amendments to the draft would be delved into in greater detail. Explaining why it was that 16 was chosen for the age limit, instead of 18, she highlighted that although ideally the age would be the former, due to the liberal access to alcohol in our culture, the enforcement of the law, and its application structure, 16 was chosen as a more feasible age to begin with. Praising Sedqa and the companies in the entertainment industry taking on corporate social responsibility in this respect, as well as making some other clarifications vis-à-vis fines and the suggested curfew, the minister wound up by guaranteeing that the law was thought up and written by experts in the field, sourcing a wide consultation with all stakeholders.

The bill’s second reading was unanimously accepted, as was its transition to committee stage. The Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Bill’s third reading was also unanimously accepted.

The pursuant summing up of the session was a discussion on domestic violence, to which Minister Dolores Cristina and Helena Dalli, MLP main spokesperson on Women’s Rights, took part.