Speaker Anglu Farrugia suggested this evening that Members of Parliament should have their speeches limited to a maximum of 15 to 20 minutes.

Dr Farrugia was speaking during the annual Sette Giugnio ceremony, held in Hastings Garden in Valletta.

MPs are currently allowed to speak for a maximum of 40 minutes while ministers and shadow ministers are entitled to 90 minute speeches when presenting a bill.

These provisions, Dr Farrugia, did not exist anywhere else in Europe or the Commonwealth. In fact, in some parliaments MPs could be fined if they exceeded their speech time limit.

Dr Farrugia said he did not believe that Malta should reach that extreme but something had to be done. "MPs must be able to say what they have to say in a short time, even in five or two minutes," he said, adding that MPs should have an allowance to employ assistance to help them with speeches.

The Speaker also spoke on how parliament and his office were reaching a greater level of autonomy. There were plans, he said, to add five more research analysts to parliament's administrative team.

Dr Farrugia also hoped that the Parliamentary Services Bill, which gives the speaker's office complete administrative autonomy and a draft bill on standards in public life would be enacted soon.