Parliament yesterday started a three-day debate on a Social Affairs Committee report on more social inclusion measures to fight poverty.

Introducing the discussion, committee chairman Edwin Vassallo said that statistics issued last month showed 57,444 persons, or 14.2 per cent, were living in a situation of relative poverty.

The EU, which has dedicated next year to the eradication of poverty, found the average of persons on the brink of poverty in the 27 member states was 32 per cent. Mr Vassallo said state social assistance reduced the risk of poverty in the EU by 38 per cent and in Malta by 35 per cent, meaning that Malta was no worse off than other countries.

The Social Affairs Committee report focused on the 21 per cent of children in Malta living in poverty. They were the most vulnerable sector because they tended to do badly at school, to be in poor health and not to participate in social life. It was all too easy for these children to inherit the lifestyles of their parents or guardians. Malta simply could not afford this.

A study by sociologist Angela Abela had established that 50 per cent of the Maltese thought this situation was because these people were lazy and unwilling to work, while 61 per cent believed no one lived in poverty in Malta, indicating either a lack of knowledge or the concealment of such situations.

Mr Vassallo quoted statistics issued by Eurobarometer on Malta to compare what people believed were the reasons for poverty and found that 19 per cent of Europeans believed poor people were unlucky, whereas in Malta only 16 per cent believed it to be so.

In Malta 36 per cent thought poverty was a question of laziness and lack of willpower, whereas in the EU it was only 20 per cent; 37 per cent of Europeans blamed it on injustices in society, whereas 22 per cent of the Maltese thought this was the reason.

Mr Vassallo said the issue of perception had to be solved.

The government was doing its part, allocating around €11 million to social assistance and embarking on new initiatives and schemes. But, to reduce the problem of poverty, it was important to strengthen the family.

There could be pre-marriage preparation courses and assistance for those going through a separation. The same importance must be given to the children involved. Outreach systems in the community could be implemented. The introduction of family nurses or social workers in the community to help in preventive care was needed for families with social problems.

Those who were systematically claiming benefits had to be given some form of employment, so as not to set a bad example to their children. When it came to research on the institution of the family, it had to be ensured that researchers really had the best interests of families at heart. The idea was to work for the good of the people in the long run.

Opposition spokesman on health Anthony Zammit said the Social Affairs Committee had always taken the role of the conscience of society, identifying social problems and endeavouring to solve them.

With data reporting on 2003, 2005 and 2007 figures, this was a "live" report that already needed follow-up due to many changes that had occurred in the intervening years. Comparing the standard of living of families perforce brought up talk of the effects of widespread inflation.

Social action was mainly against poverty and how it was affecting children mostly. How children were treated today was an indication of tomorrow's society, not least their intelligence and the contribution they could yet give to their country.

He had been shocked to read that more than 57,000 Maltese lived in relative poverty, including 21 per cent of children. Compared to European levels in 2005, Malta's situation then had been close to the average. But that was not today's picture, which would probably push the level up higher than the European average.

It was all too easy to blame everything on global recession.

Defining relative poverty, Prof. Zammit said it was the situation where a family could hardly make ends meet with just one breadwinner on minimum wage. This meant that any additional problems, especially financial, were all but insurmountable and brought the family close to absolute poverty. The major parameters of difficulties were health, nutritional, educational, cultural and developmental, including early sexual activity and unwanted pregnancies.

The family structure was suffering badly in these circumstances, with children hardly being given their due consideration in marriage breakdowns. They should have their own legal representatives.

Some families in relative poverty were too ashamed to ask for assistance.

What would the country offer the children of such families in the line of employment?

Budgeting €11 million for 57,000 people in relative poverty for 2009 amounted to just over €3 per person, roughly the cost of a packet of cigarettes.

The country needed a university faculty of family studies with lecturers and students alike getting hands-on exposure to family problems. Family nurses should go out into the community and bring back real-time information on families' plight, possibly foreseeing problems while still on the horizon.

Concluding, Prof. Zammit said the government should keep its ears to the ground and be close to the people labouring under their many and varied problems.

Dr Jean Pierre Farrugia (PN) said that according to the Household Disposable Income Survey, the southern harbour district was the only area to register a drop in household disposable income by six per cent. With unemployment being more pronounced in this area, the reduced income was felt more sharply. With regard to chronic diseases, these areas had more than the average.

It was a good thing that the Valletta city gate was to be rebuilt, but was this what was meant by urban regeneration? he asked.

Dr Farrugia criticised the fact that Valletta remained with only one clinic, which now exacerbated the situation by providing services only on alternate days. There could not be any downsizing in the health sector because this could mean an increase in family doctors' fees.

Persons who had full private insurance should be given incentives not to use Mater Dei Hospital so that there would be more room for needy people. Waiting lists were ever increasing and even if unable to pay, needy people still had to make use of private hospitals to make an appointment with neurologists.

Following the rent reform, he advocated that the Housing Authority should ensure that people would not end up homeless. He criticised the fact that the regeneration of Balzunetta in Floriana had not yet been completed after 20 years.

Dr Farrugia said that the government needed to be cautious not to promote laziness by increasing unemployment benefits.

Single parents faced difficulties. With divorce not available in Malta, they could not marry their newly-found partners. The system was therefore inflating the number of single parents who could not or did not want to marry their partners so that they could continue to rely on benefits. He also referred to married couples that just pretended to be separated to keep receiving social benefits.

Concluding, Dr Farrugia said an EU study on poverty among children lacked statistics on benefits and education in Malta, and he hoped that this was the only reason that Malta had ended up at the bottom of the league, only before the UK.

Noel Farrugia (PL) said the political parties and the Church in Malta had always contributed to alleviating the plight of the poor. He mentioned the Labour government which had introduced the minimum wage and pensions for persons with special needs, among other measures of social inclusion.

The present government had set up a number of NGOs which coordinated a number of services on social inclusion. The government needed to be more proactive towards the poor and needed to respect the principle of solidarity.

School leavers without basic skills ought to be included in apprenticeship schemes and involved in community projects. These youths often came from economically-disadvantaged families. The scheme should cater for those who could become skilled workers and those who after years of schooling remained almost illiterate.

Local councils and the central government could give incentives to individuals to become economically active in their localities and combat relative poverty.