A public consultation process for the introduction of cremation services has been launched by Health Minister Chris Fearne and MP Rosianne Cutajar.

The consultation period is open until March 29.

It will then be evaluated and discussed before a Bill is moved for debate in Parliament.

This would be moved by Ms Cutajar as a Private Member’s Bill.

Read: The trial that led to cremation’s legalisation in the UK

Dr Fearne said Malta was the only country in Europe which did not have a law on cremation and burials on the island were primarily and in their great majority in cemetery vaults. There were a few requests for burial at sea.

Every request for cremation had to be executed in a foreign country. Malta did not even have a regulatory framework on cremation which, among other things, covered the grant of the required licence.

In 2015, the Planning Authority published a policy on cemeteries as well as guidelines on crematoria.

Read: Cremation must be green and affordable - Malta Humanist Association

In November 2017, a debate at parliamentary committee level was embarked upon.

Ms Cutajar said public research showed that a third of the population wanted an alternative to traditional burial. Cremation had the least negative impact on the environment and gave relatives the opportunity to retain a memento of their loved ones. It also cost much less than traditional burial.

On the viability of crematoria in Malta, Ms Cutajar considered due to the lack of a regulatory framework.

Read: Dying to be sustainable – burial or cremation? - Anne Zammit