Call for Church, lay organisations to share relative poverty burden

Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg in Parliament yesterday called on the Church and lay organisations to share in the burden of relative poverty, admitting from the onset that it was the government's duty to shoulder the bulk of the burden and provide a strong social network.

Speaking during the second of a three-day debate on a Social Affairs Committee report on more social inclusion measures to combat poverty, Dr Borg said it would be unwise to think that the government could solve everyone's problems.

In his assessment on the report, he said that absolute poverty in Malta had been eradicated, but there were people who were indeed living in relative poverty.

It was pointed out on Monday that statistics issued last month showed 57,444 persons, or 14.2 per cent, were living in a situation of relative poverty.

The report concentrated on this new form of poverty, which included people who at times could cope financially.

Dr Borg remarked that given the small size of the islands and their limited resources, Malta's social service system was good compared to those in other countries. The government had also set up various agencies and supported projects to alleviate poverty.

He said the US government was yet to embark on a free health scheme when this has been a reality in Malta for a very long time. Malta's free health care system from the cradle to the grave and free education from kindergarten to university showed the social progress registered.

One could criticise that the service in Malta's only general hospital could be better, but it could be considered as good compared to that offered by other countries. Malta was the only European country where education was free and students were given allowances to continue their tertiary education. This had resulted in a sharp increase in the number of students continuing their post-secondary education to 75 per cent, with the government's aim being to increase this further to 85 per cent of the population over 16 years of age.

Minister Borg said that no one should forget one's social conscience because of those who missed the bus of social progress and were living in inter-generational poverty. Although the solution was not in dishing out cheques, these were necessary to help these people cope with life. As an example he mentioned single mothers who, he said, were "a reality". The government had striven to cut down on social services abuses and tax evasion.

One of the advantages of being a politician in a small island, he said, was the personal contact with people. There were parents who were worried about the welfare of their children with special needs when they themselves would pass away. The government had set up a number of houses for these persons, where they were admitted according to priority. The idea of the extended family in Malta was dead, and one could not always expect solidarity among family members.

The primary burden should be shouldered by the government, but Church and lay voluntary organisations had to share. These were financially supported by the government. Government social workers did not work for the salary but because theirs was a vocation.

Concluding, Dr Borg said that it was worthwhile to listen to what voluntary organisations had to say, but that did not mean that the government had to agree always with them. The Social Affairs Committee was right to consult these and other organisations and experts in various fields.

Labour MP Owen Bonnici said that Malta, within the European Union, had an important role to play in the eradication of poverty and the strengthening of social inclusion. The unjust distribution of wealth that existed today could be alleviated through the introduction of fair trading rules, thus removing obstacles faced by poor countries in exporting their agricultural produce. This would consequently give them an incentive to create wealth and develop their economies.

The gross injustice created by vulture funds and the corruption in poor countries should be eradicated, if necessary, through aid.

Malta should continue to be a pioneer in bringing social justice that provided opportunities for all, including those living in poor countries. In this respect Maltese society should be a model to other countries. Dr Bonnici said former Labour Prime Minister Dom Mintoff was the father of poverty eradication in Malta. He had taken courageous and difficult measures to introduce the social measures that eradicated poverty in Malta, to the extent that today one only spoke of relative poverty. He also referred to the work initiated by Manwel Dimech in this respect.

He called for the establishment of a new solid and sustainable economy and the review of the health system, thereby doing away with the difficulties created by the current waiting lists and ensuring the availability of medicines.

Malta should also strive to become a player in the creation of new and clean green energy, thereby promoting respect for the environment. The development of an educational system with state schools offering the best education would continue to ensure social inclusion and poverty eradication.

Dr Beppe Fenech Adami (PN) said that every government had worked hard to eliminate poverty by introducing a health system and several social services. These had served to eliminate the risk of having people with an unacceptable standard of living. But if the state was a lone player in combating poverty, certain pockets of people would fall behind.

There had been a shift from a welfare state to a welfare society. As a result, NGOs, other organisations and individuals were also shouldering part of the burden. Solidarity had become more important.

Dr Fenech Adami said that certain people had become more egoistic and individualistic. While many Maltese families were stable, others were breaking up. Parliament should address this problem rather than providing tools to dissolve families.

Children were adversely affected when families broke up, the more so when personal parental interests played their parts. While in the past, parents used to want to spend time with their children at weekends, nowadays certain parents argued that they should be free during weekends. Through this attitude, children were being denied their childhood.

Drug abuse had created a new type of poverty. Often, young people became broke, lost their jobs and reverted to theft to maintain their habits. One should acknowledge the government's and the Church's work in this sphere. Solidarity dictated that there should be a change in mentality with regard to drug addicts.

Concluding, Dr Fenech Adami said all members of society should shoulder the burden; the state should not be a lone player in the field.

Opposition social policy spokesman Michael Farrugia said that focusing on more students entering university and free education was escaping from reality, because it was more important to focus on what could be done for those who slipped through the system.

He said that 60,000 people in Malta lived in relative poverty, with 21 per cent of them being children. This should not be allowed, as these were no less intelligent than others. The situation was often concealed, to the extent that even teachers could not identify such cases.

Statistics showed that compared to other EU countries, Malta had one of the highest rates of illiteracy. Educational reforms had to identify the students who fell through the poverty net, and find a solution. The beginning of a solution was mentioned as providing students in need with the necessities, perhaps by encouraging past students to donate such necessities to the school. But there was no elaboration on this approach.

Dr Farrugia said Malta did very poorly in science subjects compared to other EU countries, ranking with countries such as Iraq and Iran. The poor level of English, he said, was one of the reasons, because students found it hard to study from English textbooks. Students had to be given better training in their second language.

The minister boasted of a beautiful new hospital. But, Dr Farrugia said, there were long waiting lists. As an example he mentioned the case of a woman who was not yet 60 but had been on the hospital waiting list for a simple arthroscopy for over six years. As a result, she was no longer mobile, and had to depend on her husband, who had had to quit his job.

The government was not keeping up with the people's needs, putting more people at risk of poverty. Good care was given, but then services were mediocre. The government had to start giving a more efficient service.

The government said that it was helping 30,000 people with utility bills, but 60,000 were living in relative poverty. This meant that 30,000 were not being given any help. Dr Borg had said social services were there to protect people from the poverty trap, but the majority of these 60,000 were claiming benefits.

Dr Farrugia said the statement by Dr Borg, second in line after the Prime Minister, carried more weight than others'. It was more of concern when youths from the Kummissjoni Djoċesana Żgħażagħ (KDŻ) seemed to have more common sense and a better idea of what was happening than Dr Borg in suggesting a re-evaluation of the national minimum wage.

For some people, cost-of-living increases in the budget meant that they had to forfeit other benefits, such as children or supplementary allowances.

Caritas offered male drug addicts an accommodation service, but unfortunately women did not have the same service, as there were insufficient funds.

Twelve years ago Labour had proposed a holistic approach to community help for the various areas around Malta and Gozo, which included the idea of a family nurse. Dr Farrugia said something had to be done to reduce the number of those living in poverty for the first time.

Frederick Azzopardi (PN) said that the problem of poverty was complex in nature and amounted to discrimination. Persons living in poverty needed to be taught to develop their skills and exploit their potential. Although Malta did not have absolute poverty; according to NSO statistics, 15 per cent of the population lived in poverty, with 20 per cent of those who lived under the poverty line being children. Those living on one minimum wage, a children's allowance and subsidy of services were in a state of poverty.

Experts carrying out a qualitative study on poverty had reported that this was an everyday headache for the parents of families living in poverty, their children being unable to understand why they could not have what others had. Moreover, families living under the poverty line often did their utmost to hide this, to the extent that teachers and professionals failed to identify those children who suffered poverty. This led to exclusion and lack of social interaction.

There were families who had lived on social assistance for generations, reflecting inter-generational unemployment. Their children were to be helped to overcome this poverty. Often it was the children of families who lived in relative poverty that did not perform well at school, and consequently faced difficulties in finding employment.

Mr Azzopardi said that people living below the poverty line often suffered from depression, with the incidence of chronic illnesses significantly higher, as well as levels of aggression within the family.

These difficulties could not be overcome by only strengthening the educational system through schools, but assistance at home was also required. The Social Affairs Committee had made a number of proposals to address problems of social inclusion and poverty, including the creation of a policy aimed at strengthening the family as a means of addressing poverty among children.

It was disappointing that the Centre for Family Studies at the University of Malta could not operate because of lack of funding, even though there was a gap in research on family issues. Gozo shared these same difficulties, yet faced the lack of professional services of psychologists, family therapists and social workers.

During Monday's session, Nationalist MP Jean Pierre Farrugia said that hospital waiting lists were on the increase and, even if unable to pay, needy people still had to make use of private hospitals to make appointments with urologists if their prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was high.

Dr Farrugia also referred to an EU study on poverty among children. Malta's entry lacked statistics on education and benefits, and he hoped that this was the only reason that Malta had ended up at the bottom of the league. If it was any consolation, he said, the UK was also at the lower end of the stick. Holland was first followed by the Scandinavian countries.