In its efforts to improve the situation at Paceville, Parliament’s Social Action Committee will be making full use of Facebook to listen to youths’ experiences,problems and suggestions because they were not well represented at the SAC’s second meeting yesterday on Malta’s major entertainment area.

The meeting was once again attended by representatives of several entities involved in Paceville, including some that had not been represented at last week’s meeting. These included the Malta Tourism Authority, the Federation of English Language Teaching Organisation in Malta and the Millennium Chapel.

Committee chairman Edwin Vassallo (PN) said the committee would still meet every organisation individually, following which it would compile a report and submit it for comments.

Comments made by the various representatives included that Paceville needed an entity with the power and responsibility to redesign legislation and enforce it.

Foreign students up to 18 years of age were continually monitored at school, in host family homes and on excursions, and schools also had an expulsion programme for gross misbehavers; but there was no school control over older students who had recentlyincreased and many of whom came to Malta on their own.

There were several youths who felt hurt and destroyed by the way they were exploited in Paceville. What seemed to be the main problem was that major and minor sectors were looking after their own interests rather than pulling the same rope.

There was only one way to get out of Paceville, and this posed huge problems even to an ambulance seeking to rush anyone to hospital.

There were cases of licences for certain establishments having been issued years ago, but those establishments were hardly recognisable today. Some old laws were no longer valid and must be updated into one piece of legislation.

There was no specific legislation on immorality or on defining the meaning of the word.

Meters should be introduced that measured sound emanating from establishments and automatically cut the power which could be had back only on payment of a fine.

Taxis should be relocated to the old bus terminus so that they did not have to reverse for a considerable distance once they picked up a fare. Whoeve needed a taxi would know where to find one.

There was a suggestion that drink prices should be put up in the small hours so that patrons would consume less alcohol. With people now working in shifts round the clock and not having the same times for relaxation, Paceville should be open 24/7. The playing of music should be cut off at a standard time, enticing people to head back home before others left home for work.

An entertainment zone like Paceville needed specific legislation with harsher penalties and restrictions on times when delinquents could be out at night. CCTV cameras should be of the kind that performed with zero light.

The government should seek the help of sponsors for campaigns advocating responsibility.