Members of Parliament can bang on the new parliament desks to show their support as long as they don’t overdo it and disrupt a debate or unless a complaint is raised by an MP, Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia said.

Dr Farrugia explained that never has he been asked by any side of the House to give a ruling on the issue but in the event this happens, he will have to resort to the standing orders of the House of Commons in the absence of a specific rule in our standing orders.

Dr Farrugia was speaking to The Malta Independent after we raised the question on whether MPs should be allowed to bang on parliament’s new furniture.

Dr Farrugia said that as long as banging on desks – which according to him only lasts an average of 15 seconds or so in Malta’s parliament – does not disrupt a debate, he has no problem in allowing MPs bang on their desks as a show of support towards their respective leader.

Interestingly, there is no specific rule included in Parliament’s standing orders which can be applied in the case of banging on desks.

However, Dr Farrugia explained, there are rules on orderly conduct by MPs stated in Standing Order number 62.

“A Speaker can sanction a member of parliament for disorderly conduct in parliament but the rule does not apply to disorder made collectively, meaning by all members of one side of the house at a given time.

“It is normal to see MPs showing their approval or support towards their leader by banging on desks,” he continued.

He said that he received reports from persons who are viewing the parliament channel on the extent of the noise emitted as a result of banging on desks by parliamentarians.

Dr Farrugia explained that the new parliament desks have a microphone attached to them which exacerbates the noise levels transmitted, opposed to the former parliament chamber where microphones were not attached to the desks.

Besides, he continued, the desks were not designed to have each and every MP have his/her own desk but each desk caters for at least four MPs. The issue of the microphones, coupled with this fact, creates an echo effect.

“In the absence of such a specific rule in our Standing Orders, I am bound to see what the House of Commons does if I was requested to give a ruling.

“The House of Commons, he continued, only has benches so all members of parliament can do is clap to show their support.

“Clapping is not permitted in the House of Commons but gradually it is being accepted,” Dr Farrugia said.

Recently, he highlighted, the Speaker of the House of Commons did not ask MPs to refrain from clapping. “But one cannot do any noise to disrupt a speech or debate and if this were to happen as a result of banging on desks, I will have to deliver a ruling based on this standing order of the House of Commons.”

Banging on desks in Malta’s parliament is a tradition since it has been happening for many years but it has always been done in a way that it does not disrupt a debate, he said.

When the new parliament building was being built, the desks became a subject of controversy because the problem of larger-than-needed desks was proving to be a bigger headache than initially thought. This fact that the desks and seats were too large and MPs would have difficulty standing between them had been raised by PN leader Simon Busuttil in parliament before parliamentarians moved to the new building.

This issue and the delay of certain works had led to parliament’s building to open much later than what was initially planned.