Gino Cauchi (PL) said that the divorce issue had already been debated at length, both in Parliament during the debate on the referendum motion and during the referendum campaign itself. The people had voted in favour of divorce and it was, therefore, useless to debate a principle which had already been decided. It was now up to Parliament to respect this outcome.

The standing orders stated that, during the second reading, MPs should discuss the essence of the Bill. Although it was important that there be a second reading, Mr Cauchi believed that there was no need for long discussion and that two parliamentary sittings would have been enough. The bulk of the work would then be carried out at committee stage where each clause of the Bill would be analysed in detail. He said that certain amendments had to be made in order to improve the Bill. It was estimated that by 2015, Malta would have more than 35,000 failed marriages. Furthermore, during the first four months of this year, 21 persons had obtained divorce abroad and 191 couples had started separation proceedings. Such figures could not be ignored and it was important to acknowledge that Malta was facing a problem.

He said that he had received a letter from a member of the clergy telling him that as a Catholic person he should not be speaking in favour of divorce. Furthermore, all opposition members had received a letter from an individual who threatened them that if they voted in favour of divorce he would make sure that they would not be re-elected.

Mr Cauchi said that it was Parliament’s responsibility to proceed to the next stage of this Bill in order to introduce responsible divorce as early as possible.