€50 non-attendance fine for MPs attracts a full House

The motion on Parliament’s Standing Orders approved by Parliament earlier this week seems to have already had a positive effect as yesterday’s final session attracted 65 out of the 69 Members of Parliament.

Only four MPs did not show up for the 15 minute session which approved the transfer of land in Valletta to become a political museum.

The motion which was approved this week stipulates that MPs who miss Parliamentary sessions for no justifiable reason have to pay a fine of €50. If Parliamentary session from October is well-attended as yesterdays, attendance is expected to reach an all-time record.

Replying to questions sent by this newspaper, Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia explained that the money collected will be deposited in a separate account which will eventually be used “for the better administration of Parliament.”

Speaker Anglu Farrugia said that this fund will help with the Parliament’s administration, even more so now that it will become fully autonomous following the publication of the Parliamentary Services Act.

The measure by which MPs will be made to pay a fine comes as part of the reform proposed by the government. The Labour Party had promised that it will make attendance of MPs in Parliament obligatory.

In a lengthy session held on Monday, Parliament approved other important amendments in Parliamentary procedures. The motions will change the Standing Orders permanently amended on matters on which the two sides of the House have an agreement.

The amendments proposed by the government were passed unanimously while those presented by the Opposition were not approved by the House. The Opposition’s amendments included one for the introduction of the Prime Minister’s question time, which however was rejected by the government side.

Both sides of the House agreed that MPs who do not attend parliament without a justifiable reason, will have to face a fine. There was also an agreement to set up a Committee for Petitions.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had explained that the aim of these motions is to help make Parliament more efficient and less bureaucratic. The motion also decreases the intervention time for each MP, from 40 minutes to half an hour.