Speaker Anġlu Farrugia has been on nearly as many official trips abroad in two years as his three predecessors in the past two legislatures combined, The Sunday Times of Malta has learnt.
Dr Farrugia has been on 41 official visits since being appointed Speaker in March 2013, according to figures provided by the Clerk of the House, Ray Scicluna.
That is just six short of the 47 trips taken by his three predecessors between 2003 and 2013.
The trips were made following official invitations, and Dr Farrugia’s travels, nearly all of which included an entourage of four or five people, have already cost €113,000.
By way of comparison, Anton Tabone spent half that amount in double the time when he was Speaker between 2003 and 2008.
Speaking to this newspaper from Manchester, where he was on a short family holiday, Dr Farrugia yesterday defended his travels.
“I don’t agree that these trips have been too much. Every one of these trips was justified and immediately reported to the House,” he said.
Dr Farrugia said he was the first full-time Speaker since Malta’s independence, and he had taken a personal initiative to increase the international involvement of the Maltese Parliament.
Dr Tabone led 18 delegations during the 10th legislature, while his successors Louis Galea and Michael Frendo led 30 delegations between them during the following legislature between 2008 and 2013. Dr Farrugia went on his 41st trip to New York earlier this month for a speakers’ conference.
Every one of these trips was justified
Dr Farrugia travelled to Algeria, Azerbaijan, Australia and the US, among others.
He has also travelled eight times to Sicily so far during this legislature. He has a holiday home in Ragusa, Sicily, and has been on two “official” trips to nearby Modica.
Dr Farrugia said his trips were often significantly cheaper than those of his parliamentary colleagues, as he chose not to take business class. “I always travel economy, and if possible low cost. Others may not do so, but I do. If ordinary people travel economy, why shouldn’t I?” he said.
Dr Farrugia also pointed to several reports he drafted after taking the trips, seen by this newspaper.
The reports list several instances when the Speaker was asked to chair sessions, for instance during Commonwealth debates, as well as deliver keynote speeches.
“My participation in overseas fora is bearing fruit,” he said.
Mr Scicluna also defended Dr Farrugia’s trips, insisting there had been “an upward trend” in MPs’ travels in recent years. “We have seen an increase in the travel by MPs overall, and this has been noticed over a long period of time. It is a move to increased participation in international fora,” he said.
A look at the travel figures for MPs over the past 12 years shows more than a quarter of the 858 trips taken by MPs since 2003 took place in the current legislature.
There was a 50 per cent increase in trips from 2008 to 2013 over the previous legislature, and almost as many trips have been taken in the first half of this five-year term.