Farming and fisheries will no longer be classified as Gozo’s main priority. Tourism has taken over. This is a major step in the right direction, as both farming and fisheries are dying a natural death.

It is good for the administration to search and establish another way forward.

There is also the new investment in the Gozo General Hospital, aimed at attracting foreign patients, who, in turn, will bring visiting relatives and students.

Lowering the stamp duty on property from five per cent to 1.5 per cent will help attract foreign investment to Gozo.

The €5 million investment in an archaeological museum is most welcome. I would have expected further works in excavating and preserving the archaeological monuments we already know about.

There is still some explaining to do about the new industrial area expansion in Xewkija. Gozitans need to know which industries are being targeted.

It has been announced that Gozo will get its much-needed second fibre optic cable.

The channel tunnel study is also welcomed by the majority of Gozitans, especially those who regularly commute between the islands. I remember seeing a model of a Gozo-Malta bridge in the late 1950s. Maybe the project is being finally implemented.

I am not so sure of the success of the fast-ferry service. We already had two experiments in the past.

The Marsalforn-Sliema-Valletta service in the 1960s had to be discontinued in the very first year of operations due to lack of passengers. The second experiment was when Gozo had its first minister, who introduced a hovercraft service from Mġarr to Valletta. It too had a short lifespan.

Has anyone made a feasibility  study about costs? How many passengers must use the service for it to be financially feasible? Has a study been done on how Gozitans travel to Valletta after the crossing? Will it be a passenger-only service, or will cars be carried too?

I do wish this service all the luck in the world, but I have my doubts about its feasibility.

The Budget caters for a national swimming pool, which will provide a missing sporting facility for Gozitan youths.

As the population of senior citizens in Gozo is high, the pension measures announced will have an all-round positive effect. The exemption from income tax on pensions of up to €13,000 a year is marvellous. People in general will benefit hugely, because, so far, they were being taxed at least one month’s pension.

Carers, housing care, housing projects, night shelters and day facilities for those in need are also included in this Budget, which is great news.

This is what low-income earners were expecting after those having a high income had their tax ceiling lowered to 25 per cent, a move which benefitted quite a good number of people.

Allow me to speak about young couples. Nowadays, most (not all) would expect to have a house full of furniture and all the modern gadgets that long-married couples have. They even want this before they get married. So the solution is to go to a bank and get a loan, meaning both would spend over 30 years working to pay it back.

After a while, the matter starts annoying them. They have no money to spend on holidays and entertainment. Many will start looking for other pastures, and trouble then starts brewing.

Is this a responsible way to start your life? Or is it better to first save and then buy, as used to be the habit and tradition for former generations?

This where this government shows how serious it is. First comes the accumulation of wealth and then its distribution. In my opinion, those crying out for more and more are like babies wanting to get what they want without realising the future consequences, which could even destroy the progress made.

Take, for example, electricity. The energy company was on the verge of being dissolved and declared bankrupt. Had this happened, all Malta would have become bankrupt. Things are getting better now, though short-sighted individuals try to put spanners in the works.

People do tend to forget that, in the past, parents used to save a little bit of money on the food basket to buy books for their children. Thank God, this aspect of life isno more, but it helps us realise where we have been and how far we have gone.

One final point – a personal issue. In each Budget, the government raises the cigarette and tobacco tax, invoking health reasons. Thank you, but no thank you. At my senior age, I believe I can take care of my health as I have done all my life.

So, please, stop taxing tobacco, which has now become the most expensive across Europe, perhaps only after England.

Otherwise, a thumbs up for the Budget.

Lino DeBono is a former Labour MP.