As expected, the PN electoral programme gives pride of place to students, youths, workers and people requiring health services. No surprises there. But, this time round, our programme goes one further.

It is society that has to change for persons with a disability- Simon Busuttil

It elevates to the same level two other sectors where a great deal of work has already been done. They are the elderly and persons with a disability. No electoral programme, of whichever party, has ever featured them so prominently as this one.

Today, I would like to spell out our initiatives for persons with a disability.

There is no question that successive PN governments have made strides ahead in this area. For instance, Malta tops the EU list in integrating virtually all persons with a disability into the education system. And our law is also more advanced than EU law.

But, in our electoral programme, we want to take another quality leap.

Firstly, by getting more people with a disability into a job. We are aware that the transition from schooling to the working world is a big issue for parents.

We will do this by strengthening incentives, such as by removing employer’s national insurance contributions when persons with a disability are employed. And, on its part, as employer, the Government will lead by example and raise the minimum rate of people with a disability working with the public sector from two per cent to four per cent.

We will also work to ensure that people with a disability who can work in a sheltered environment will have suitable work opportunities through the setting up of sheltered workshops and enclaves that will also be provided in partnership with the private sector. And five day centres will be opened for people with severe disability who cannot work in an unprotected environment or in a protected one.

The second area covers long-term planning to cater for when the parents of persons with a disability are no longer there to support them.

We are aware that this is a very sensitive issue for parents. Yet, there is no single good solution that is appropriate for each and every person.

So we are proposing a legal structure within the Sapport agency to facilitate the development of a plan for life by means of which a family can come to an agreement with the Government on what they wish for the disabled family member once the family is no longer in a position to provide care.

This plan for life, which can also include trusts, will be a contract defining the participation of the family and the Government in all aspects of the life of the person with a disability. This will give family members the peace of mind they need for when that moment comes.

In addition, we will also significantly increase community services so that people with disability can be supported at home. To this end, the Independent Community Living Fund will be increased by at least €500,000 per year for the coming five years.

Direct payments to the disabled person and their families will be made so that they will be able to buy the services they need. This fund will also consist of a personal assistance service for people with a disability.

Moreover, every year for the next five years, as a minimum, a community residential home for persons with a severe disability will be opened.

The third area concerns pensions. A complete revision of disability pensions will be carried out so that we will have at least two levels: the current level that will continue to be given to persons with severe disability and a new, higher, level, which will be paid to people with an even more severe disability.

The higher pension level of persons with a disability will be at least equal to the national minimum wage. The pension will not be deducted if the person earns other income, especially if this income is earned from a job.

There are other proposals in the programme. For instance, we will introduce facilities to enable persons with a disability to vote in full respect of their privacy and with dignity, according to their particular needs.

For persons with a hearing disability, we will increase facilities for sign language interpretation in Maltese not only in the educational sector but also in relation to other essential services such as the medical, social and recreational sectors.

And for persons with visual impairments, we will allocate more financial assistance for the training of guide dogs so that anyone with a visual impairment who wishes to benefit from this service will have his/her own guide dog.

The next five years could see the country make another quality leap forward to help integrate persons with a disability fully into our society.

As the Prime Minister puts it, it is not persons with a disability who have to change for society. It is society that has to change for persons with a disability.

And that’s exactly what we are doing.

Simon Busuttil is Nationalist Party deputy leader.