New €276 million deal to continue free childcare to be signed in coming days – Prime Minister

Prime Minister Robert Abela announced on Sunday that a new €276 million deal for the free childcare service to continue will be signed in the coming days.

Speaking in a Labour Party political activity, Abela said that the new agreement will see an increase in €34 million in terms of the investment the government was making as part of the previous agreement.

He said that the measure is designed to incentivise anybody who wishes to enter the labour market to be able to do so and that it will be another “important milestone” together with others.

The party event was focused around families, and Abela said that for him the main quality that defines families is love – not distinctions between genders or orientations.  He said that the progress that the government has made legislatively in this regard has been strong – “We’re almost there,” he said – but admitted that work still needs to be done on a cultural level.

“This is a question of equality for me – when you give such a wide definition of a family then you are strengthening this belief in equality and non-discrimination,” Abela said.

“There was big resistance even up to three years ago when big reforms on IVF were met with a vote which split the House rather than united it,” he said.

Abela added that so far there have been 1,034 IVF pregnancies, including those currently pregnant.

Together with the upcoming new agreement to continue offering free childcare, Abela cited the two tax cuts granted in the last two Budgets as being integral for creating a stronger family and therefore a stronger society.

He said that there needs to be a recognition that the family as we know it has changed: there are still strong traditional families, but also strong new types of families including multicultural ones.

“It is a reality,” Abela said. “How do you address it?  As if it doesn’t exist? As if we need to work against it? Or by strengthening integration?  Our work has to be on the latter: to facilitate integration and have a stronger society,” the Prime Minister said.

For those families going through challenges, Abela said that after the conclusion of a public consultation there will be a “holistic reform” on family law.  This will be tied to investment in a new building which will be a dedicated Family Court.

Abela also spoke on the government’s pending reforms for access to social media platforms for minors.

He said that the legislation would focus on children under the age of 13 and on ensuring that the prohibitions that already exist on social media platforms – many, if not all, ban those under the age of 13 from having accounts – are properly enforced.

“We need to speak to these operators so we can create safeguards for our children which will ensure that where there are prohibitions, they are enforced,” Abela said.

“I believe the government needs to protect families and businesses: we were always the government which protected families, businesses, and workers and this is one more step towards protecting our children at an age when they are vulnerable,” he said.

Speaking about climate change and Storm Harry – a weather event which is likely to become an altogether more common phenomenon – Abela said that when he used to go to COP meetings to speak about the challenges faced by small island states in terms of vulnerability, he was not speaking about theory but about what they were predicting.

“We saw what was happening around us and we were proactive in preparing our disciplined forces for what may one day happen here,” he said.

“What we saw in Storm Harry – 16 metre waves between Malta and Sicily – is shocking.  Things we had only read about in books can now be seen before our very eyes,” he said.

“I was happy that we were so prepared and that the people really collaborated, and I want to praise the action that CPD and others took,” he said, adding that the investment the government is making is bearing fruit.

The event featured a panel made up of economist Kearon Bruno, sociologist Godfrey Baldacchino, teacher and influencer Stephanie Rogers, and lecturer Lisa Cassar Shaw.

RSS Feed Source: Independent Malta New €276 million deal to continue free childcare to be signed in coming days – Prime Minister