Let me, on behalf of many others, express my deep gratitude to Lino Spiteri for his continued support towards the welfare of the disabled (November 22).

I would also like to express my disappointment towards the meagre sum voted in the budget to address the lack of community-based residential homes for the disabled.

The competent authorities must be unaware of the severity and extent of the problem and the desperate pleas of many disabled persons, or their ageing parents, who are deeply concerned about their future.

However, it is understandable that due to the present economic situation, the government alone cannot attain a satisfactory solution to this issue. Many parents are ready to sacrifice most of their life savings to somehow help in the financing of the setting up and running of these residential homes, hopefully with some form of state aid, but are uncertain how to go about it and how to establish a mechanism which guarantees the continuation of the quality of life long after they are gone. Necessary social frameworks and structures supporting this should be introduced without further delay so as to encourage parents to take up this initiative.

Time is running out for many of us.