I refer to Stephen Calleja’s article entitled “The trouble lies within” (TMIS, 6 February) where he describes me “as someone who tries to spoil the party if he is not invited” after recalling I “would not vote in favour of the reform in the health sector as proposed and would have backed a Labour motion to repeal the honoraria increase that ministers and parliamentary secretaries received”.

I will only clarify that had the government privatised primary health all private GPs’ rates would have inflated and the honoraria freeze also meant I had to take a loan to buy my elder son a car rather than rely on the €20,000 2008-2010 arrears in the MPs’ honorarium. So I would have enjoyed the party after all and wouldn’t have been gate crashing either! I just hope the writer also turns out to be a good loser when in less than a month Juventus will beat Milan.

The comment “his recent stunt at Mater Dei Hospital also exposed a kind of aggressiveness against Health Minister Joe Cassar” is not in synch with Dr Michael Asciak’s letter in the same issue: Here the Chairman of the Bioethics Consultative Committee, while admitting that “the news that five sets of triplets have found themselves in the special care neonatology unit of Mater Dei in the space of one month left him aghast and surprised”, also stated that “If the ad hoc committee is ready to meet and re-examine these issues anew, taking into consideration the new scientific and ethical angles that they may not have previously considered, that is a positive sign and should be encouraged. An opportunity not to be missed I would say for those who believe in an objective truth!”

I take the opportunity to refer to Dr Joe Cassar’s comments on IVF where he states: “I feel we need to look deeper into alternative techniques and processes as is oocyte vitrification. My ministry is closely following developments in the field of assisted reproduction. We are also tapping into the experience and expertise of our counterparts in the EU to look into the technical, ethical and medical aspects of this area of practice. My message at this point in time, therefore is, let’s explore, let’s study such alternative pathways. There might be yet other options that we do not want to overlook. Effectively addressing the needs of couples seeking to have a child is high on our agenda. Embryo freezing is not. We need to find a comprehensive way of marrying these two realities” (SToM, 6 February).

This is the way forward. On my proposal the Social Affairs Committee will be taking up the issue of ova vitrification. The Social Affairs Committee will be meeting under the chairmanship of Hon Edwin Vassallo on 22 and 23 February.

Nothing could be more anachronistic than comparing the leadership skills of politicians who managed in “different times”. Besides, my late father was my moral yardstick; arguing with my dear elder brother is a walk in the park.

Jean-Pierre Farrugia MD MP