Speaker Anġlu Farrugia ruled that no annual reports from the Authority on the Responsible Use of Cannabis (ARUC) have been tabled in Parliament since its establishment, adding that he is taking Prime Minister Robert Abela at his word that the report will be presented once finalised.
Farrugia delivered a ruling following concern raised by PN MP David Agius over unanswered parliamentary questions to Abela about the tabling of the annual reports of the Authority on the Responsible Use of Cannabis (ARUC).
Agius had raised the matter with the Speaker after submitting a parliamentary question, asking the Prime Minister to table copies of ARUC’s annual reports.
In his questions, Agius requested the annual reports for 2023, 2024 and 2025, as well as details about the budget allocated to the authority by the government and the revenue generated through licences and contributions linked to the Cannabis Harm Reduction Associations between January 2023 and December 2025, broken down year by year.
In response to the parliamentary question, the Prime Minister had said that the reply would be provided in another sitting.
Farrugia said that Agius also referred to another parliamentary question on the same subject submitted last February, asking whether the Prime Minister would provide copies of ARUC’s annual reports and disclose the authority’s allocated budget and the income generated through licences and contributions related to harm reduction associations.
He said that the Prime Minister had replied that an operational report had been prepared by the authority, while the annual accounts were in the final stages of completion, and would be presented in Parliament in the coming weeks.
In his ruling, the Speaker said that after examining the parliamentary questions submitted by Agius, which referred to ARUC’s annual report, the Speaker had also considered various parliamentary guidelines concerning the obligation of ministers to reply to parliamentary questions.
While noting that he does not have the authority to determine the exact timeframe for replies, Farrugia reminded the government of the importance of responding to parliamentary questions within a reasonable time.
The Speaker also referred to a previous ruling delivered in 2023 following a complaint raised by Agius regarding replies to parliamentary questions that were allegedly unclear or even inaccurate.
Farrugia further noted that the legislation establishing ARUC contains specific provisions regarding the authority’s annual reporting obligations.
He said that Article 18 of the law requires the authority to prepare an annual report as soon as possible, not exceeding three months after the end of the reporting period, and for the minister to table it in Parliament within six weeks.
However, the Speaker said that records of the House indicated that no annual report from ARUC has been tabled in Parliament since the authority was established.
Farrugia acknowledged the Prime Minister’s recent reply in February, in which he stated that the authority’s accounts were in their concluding stages and would be presented in Parliament in the coming weeks.
The Speaker said that he would therefore take the Prime Minister at his word that the report would be tabled in Parliament at the earliest opportunity once it is received.