MPs have racked up €4,000 in fines for being absent from Parliament

MPs have racked up €4,000 in fines for being absent from Parliament so far this year, Speaker of the House of Representatives Anglu Farrugia told this newsroom.

Asked by The Malta Independent how many fines MPs had racked up, Speaker Farrugia confirmed this number, but said that he preferred not to provide a list of those MPs who still have pending fines.

However, he said, the attendance of MPs is always registered in the parliamentary minutes which are publicly available both in hard and soft copies.  He noted that the relevant permanent orders to this subject speak about attendance to a parliamentary day rather than a parliamentary sitting.

This means that if on a particular day an MP attends a session at one of the Parliamentary Committees but not the main plenary, the said MP will not be subjected to any fines.  This is due to the fact that the committees generally meet at the same time of Parliament.

The relevant permanent order (number 159) details that if MPs – including ministers and parliamentary secretaries - are absent for a whole parliamentary day, the MP must pay a fine of €50 by not later than six months after that day.

Parliament is back in session today after the summer break, and there are a number of matters on the agenda.  These include the second reading of a number of bills, some of which relating to education, the Malta Financial Services Authority, arms, voluntary organisations – which is the first point on Monday's agenda – and family businesses.

The resumption of Parliament will also see the times for the sittings shift to earlier, more family-friendly hours, something which the Speaker said was possible following an agreement between the government and the Opposition.  Furthermore, Parliament will be meeting earlier on a second day – aside from Wednesday.  In fact, Monday will see the House Business Committee starting at 11:00am. 

Asked whether he was considering reducing the amount of time that MPs are eligible to speak during sittings, hence making it more akin to the European Union's Parliament, Speaker Farrugia said that even though the Chair is in favour of reducing each MPs speaking time, such a measure must come following amendments in the Permanent Orders of the Parliament.  Such an amendment would normally be put forward by the Government with the support of the Opposition

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