Prime Minister Robert Abela wants a national consultation process on reforms to the family courts.

Addressing a political activity on Sunday, Abela said he has met with people who were hurt, and saw the realities people face where children and parents suffered. He said that he wants a country that offers more and better support to families going through problems, "where the structures the country has when facing such challenges reduce tension, not increase it."

He said the structures must throw water onto the fire, and reduce the temperature instead of raise it. "What are the main challenges in this sector? I want to throw a few points out there for discussion. Do we need a specialized family court, and not just keep a specialized section?" He mentioned the delay in separation proceedings. "How could there be a situation where such sensitive cases that deal with the lives of children and parents take years to conclude and couples cannot start their new lives?" He questioned whether a stronger mediation process is needed. "Where reconciliation can be found it is found and where not, it leads to the parties closing the process and again starting their lives." He also mentioned parental alienation, and said that the PL Electoral Manifesto also addresses measures regarding it.

Regarding the family court he said that the country never had formal structures, parameters of how the court fixes maintenance, and that the country never had a formal structure of how access is determined.  He also questioned whether there should be the rights of grandparents who would have some form of access also.

The last reform was in 2003, he said.  Every year, he said, there are 1,400 letters for mediation, he said. "Many of them are new cases."

"While we want to embark on this big reform which I believe is needed, we want to open a national consultation process. We want to listen and issue proposals, and then decide based on what we would have heard and dialogued about."

During his speech, Abela also spoke about the difficult lives some people in society have had.

He said that there are moments where everyday life brings one face to face with the importance of improving people's lives.

He spoke about his career and the realities he came face to face with. "Situations where families fought, where people who had drug problems, people who ended up in prostitution, victims of drugs who committed crimes." He said that when he entered politics he had a vision of how to address these realities. He said people don't end up in such situations because they are bad people, but because life would not have given them the same opportunities as others, and that they did not end up in such situations because they wanted to, but because they would not have found someone to help them onto the right road.

Abela said that there are people who end up in such circumstances as they don't know a different life. "A girl today who, since she was born, knew nothing but a life with a father and mother who abuse drugs, and a mother who has to make a living on the street to earn for her family. Tell me, what different life does that girl know? And so should we, as society, look at this girl with prejudice and judge her?" He said that the socialist heart means that they are there for them, and would not cast aside such people, but would be there for them.

He spoke about changing systems that don't work well, or strengthening those that don't work well enough. "This can be done by building on the good the country has," he said.

He also spoke about mental health. This week, he said, he visited Mt Carmel Hospital and met with various patients. The challenge of mental health is one of the biggest challenges the country needs to tackle, he said. He said that psychiatrists told him that the percentage of people in Malta and abroad who, after the pandemic, have mental health episodes exploded upwards. He said that a psychiatrist said that in Malta there will be around 140,000 people who will come face to face with serious mental health episodes.

He praised the quality of human resources in this sector, mentioning the dedicated psychiatrists, nurses and social workers, among others. "I want to thank them. They told me how hurt they feel when the service they offer at the hospital isn't recognized enough, or that there is unjust criticism against them and they have to remain silent. They told me they feel that the stigma tied with this subject also affects them. I want to send a message of courage and thanks to them for their dedicated work."

He said that the success of the PL's mental health strategy revolves around community. "Firstly, he said that the element of care moved from the traditional, where someone was kept in hospital for as long as possible, to one where when a person needs to go to the hospital, all is done to reintegrate them back into society as quickly as possible." He also spoke of the importance of community services with regards to mental health. He mentioned a new service of psychiatrists and nurses in the community, through which for 9 of 10 patients who use that service there is no need for them to go to the mental health hospital, he said.

"Professionals said that there will always be cases where there is a need for the person to be sent to the hospital for care for a period of time. Here we will strengthen the existing infrastructure, while also building new infrastructure." He said there is a need to have the existing and new infrastructure, as there are different patient circumstances that need different infrastructures.

He said that "we are in politics to improve the lives of people."

Turning to St Paul's Bay, Abela announced that through the Lands Authority, a piece of land was passed to the St Paul's Bay local council to build a community centre. He also said that the Bugibba square project tenders will be issued in the coming weeks.