As Parliament approved the budget estimates for the Family and Social Solidarity Ministry yesterday, a war of words broke out over two public officers who spoke publicly in favour of measures included in Budget 2008.

Labour’s main spokesman for social solidarity, Marie Louise Coleiro Preca attacked National Family Commission chairman Sandro Spiteri and Commissioner for Children Carmen Zammit, saying they should have mentioned the real problems and not simply spoken publicly about the positive measures introduced in the budget.

Mr Spiteri went “overboard” and “it is a shame that he spoke the way he did”, said Ms Coleiro Preca, adding that he spoke publicly about the fact that measures included in Budget 2008 will increase the amount of disposable income so people would spend more, and this would result in economic growth.

An officer such as Mr Spiteri should be looking at the whole spectrum regarding families, she said, adding that he should be ashamed not to have mentioned the real problems, like those faced by the homeless and problems faced by single mothers whose only income is that received from part-time work.

Notwithstanding this attack, yesterday morning’s parliamentary discussion followed a long list of issues, from social benefits to people with disabilities, income tax bands, children’s allowance and pensions, among others.

The discussion opened with a strong-worded speech by Ms Coleiro Preca, who said the government was now giving back to the people things they were deprived of by Nationalist governments a few years ago.

She quoted Dr Gonzi as saying, in the budget speech, that Budget 2008 seeks to help every family and reward those who work hard.

Ms Coleiro Preca questioned how come, therefore, in Budget 2008, the government had failed to include measures that would help the country’s most vulnerable groups. The revision of income tax bands, according to the Labour spokesman, would particularly reward those in the middle-class bracket.

“What about minimum wage earners, people living on social benefits, part-timers, widows and people who cannot work due to an accident at the work place? They will not be rewarded, even though they may be the most hard working people around,” she insisted.

Malta is one of the EU countries with the highest taxes and the lowest increase in salaries, but the Nationalists have been going on about the fact that families will benefit from the measures introduced in Budget 2008, making it seem like families are suddenly going to have a high standard of living, she said.

Ms Coleiro Preca added that Budget 2008 was nothing but political scheming. She said the Labour Party has been saying that the government cannot simply give one-off benefits, but these must be linked to the cost of living.

“Shame on the Nationalist government for not strengthening its regulatory structures,” she said, adding that Labour’s proposal regarding the surcharge on utility bills will leave people with more disposable income.

Referring to people who received the energy voucher for their utility bills, she said the government was being insensitive by making the most vulnerable have to queue up and identify themselves.

In reply to Ms Coleiro Preca’s remarks, Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina, who closed yesterday morning’s parliamentary session, said the Labour MP’s attack on people like the chairman of the National Family Commission and the Commissioner for Children was an attack on freedom of expression.

Ms Coleiro Preca rubbished these two officials just because they expressed a sincere opinion, said Ms Cristina.

The minister said the Labour Party’s reactions to Budget 2008 were contradictory in themselves, showing that the party is “running with the hare and hunting with the hounds”.

Budget 2008 responded to people’s expectations, but was prudent at the same time, as many people described it, she said, quoting The Malta Independent as having described the budget as “bold and bountiful”.

The ministry’s vote of Lm357 million / EUR832, had increased by Lm23.5 million / EUR54.7 million over the last budget, said Ms Cristina, while stressing the important links between the family and social solidarity sector and others like education and culture.

Speaking about the children’s allowance system, the minister said there are 79,000 children under the age of 16 and the parents of these children will be receiving a minimum of Lm107 / EUR249.

She said people with a low income and with a number of children, the section of families that are truly in need of assistance, will benefit substantially from the new system.

The minister mentioned a number of fiscal measures in the housing sector, including the equity sharing and shared ownership schemes.

Ms Cristina referred to a remark made by Labour MP Stefan Buontempo earlier during yesterday’s session. He criticised the Lm16,000 / EUR37,270 contract for Housing Authority chairman Marisa Micallef on the eve of a general election.

The minister said Ms Micallef has been in the post since 1 June 2006 and her contract was simply renewed.

Referring to Ms Coleiro Preca’s remark regarding the energy voucher for utility bills, the minister denied that this encroached on anyone’s dignity. She said the energy voucher was linked to consumption and to the number of people in the household, so it was perfectly fair.

Ms Cristina mentioned several projects that the government was working on to improve the family and social solidarity sector. She spoke about, among other things, the Lm40,000 / EUR93,175 allocation to the National Family Commission, for a study programme on the family at university.

The minister also mentioned the national action plan for social inclusion, which was drawn up in extensive consultation with social partners and which received words of praise from the European Commission.

“Our policies were always intended to help vulnerable groups, and Budget 2008 particularly addresses these groups,” she said, before going on to speak about children with difficult behaviour, who will be able to participate in a programme that is being conducted in collaboration with the church and Richmond Foundation.

Speaking about legislation in her ministry’s remit, Ms Cristina announced that the Adoption Law will soon be published.

As for family-friendly measures, the minister said these were also bearing fruit. The government will open a child care centre in Birkirkara on Saturday.

The next centre to open will be in St Paul’s Bay, based on the Cospicua model, which was a huge success, she said.

The government will also be introducing child care centres in state schools in Luqa, Gharghur and Paola, said Ms Cristina, adding that she also hoped that the Family and Social Solidarity Ministry would also soon be able to have a child care centre.

Nationalist MP Joe Cassar based his speech in Parliament yesterday on budget measures in favour of people with disabilities.

He said the national commission for people with disabilities (KNPD) had expressed its satisfaction that most of its proposals to the government had been included in Budget 2008, which was full of measures that will help these people.

Labour MP Karl Chircop spoke particularly about the increase in the cost of living. He said the cost of living adjustment (COLA) given in full to pensioners was “too little, too late”, because these are the people who spend most money on expensive medicines and specialised food products.

On the other hand, Labour MP Silvio Parnis praised the government for the Lm1.50 / EUR3.49 COLA and said the Labour Party has long been saying that the elderly should receive the COLA in full.

Labour MP Helena Dalli echoed Ms Coleiro Preca’s laments that the government failed to address vulnerable groups in Budget 2008, particularly people at risk of poverty.

Ms Dalli referred to the budget measure to introduce the national breast screening programme, as a “scandal” and a clear instance of political opportunism.

“Four days before the announcement of Budget 2008, Health Minister Louis Deguara told me this cannot be introduced in the immediate future,” she said, adding that the head of the Oncology Department was not consulted on the matter and said it could not be implemented.

Nationalist MP David Agius noted that none of the Labour MPs had said a word about corruption in the housing sector, which was such a sensitive sector that had been previously criticised by the MLP. Now, he said, Labour was picking on Housing Authority Chairman Marisa Micallef, he said, but they did not speak about any form of corruption.

Speaking about the Labour Party’s proposal to help first-time buyers of property with a maximum of 10 per cent, Mr Agius criticised the proposal, because he said the MLP said the fiscal assistance would have to be returned, together with interest.

Nationalist MP Clyde Puli noted that the government had invested more than Lm1 billion / EUR2.33 billion in social services over the past four years.

He referred to the Labour Party’s “desperate song” about increases in the cost of living, even though it was clear that the rate of inflation is imposed by international prices of goods.

The Labour Party’s promise to control the cost of living was therefore an illusion and whenever controls did exist, particularly in the 80s under a Labour government, the cost of living still increased, said Mr Puli.

The estimates were approved with 32 votes in favour and 24 against.