A new Nationalist government will give an annual grant of €300 to parents of students under the age of 18 who take part in a structured extracurricular programme, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said on Tuesday.

The programme must be registered with an ESG-compliant association of their choice in sports, performing arts, culture or the arts.

Grech explained that a Nationalist party in government will introduce schemes to allow parents to deduct from their taxable income any school fees, fees for extracurricular activities as well as those related to sports.

This was announced during a television programme called 'Qalb il-Familja (Heart of the Family) that is expected to be broadcast on Net Television every Tuesday and Thursday at 11am during the election campaign.

The programme aims to discuss a number of issues as well as a number of proposals put forth by the Nationalist Party. The topic of discussion for today's event was based on the cost of living.

"The aim of these proposals for young people entails incentivizing them to practice sports or choose a career in culture and the arts. This is part of the education that a new PN government believes in," Grech said.

He reiterated and gave details about another proposal that was announced, to reduce the tax rate to 5% on the first €80,000 for athletes, artists, coaches, singers, and others who work and earn a living from these sectors.

Meanwhile, Grech also spoke about the cost of living and mental health.

"The cost of living situation is a reality which was not necessarily brought about by the government alone, as other factors and difficulties exist that are outside of this country's control. These also need to be considered," Grech said.

However, he highlighted that the government has not provided a solution to this problem and stated that nothing can be done on the matter.

"The Nationalist Party is addressing this issue head on, whilst the Labor Party is telling the public that there is nothing that can be done, thus also telling the public that the cost of living will continue to increase over the next five years," Grech said.

He said that importers and exporters face high and extra costs for certain products, and as a result he reiterated the Nationalist Party's proposal which entails the setting up of a €40 million national fund  to assist local businesses and industries deal with rising export expenses.