Parliament gets down to business after Christmas recess

It’s full steam ahead after the Christmas recess for members of parliament as the House Business Committee on Monday laid out the agenda for the coming month.

The committee agreed that on Tuesday 10 January, parliament will debate the Companies Act and the implementation of the budget measures.

There will not be a sitting on Wednesday due to the official opening of the Maltese presidency of the Council of the European Union. But parliament will meet on Thursday at 1pm to discuss a private member's bill presented by government whip Godfrey Farrugia to amend the Health Act. 

Between 16 and 24 January, the House will continue debating the budget measures, while on 25 January, it will meet to continue discussing the Malta Development Bank. 

Amendments to the Police Act will be discussed on 30 January, followed by a conclusion of the debate on budget measures the day after.

The debate on the Malta Development Bank will be concluded on 1 February. 

On 6 February, the committee agreed to debate an amendment ro Legal Notice 404, presented by opposition MP Jason Azzopardi, but this might give way to a debate on a consolidation bill to be presented by the parliamentary secretary for planning, Deborah Schembri, if both sides of the House accept Azzopardi’s proposal without any discussion.

Parliament will then debate the Local Councils Act on 7 February, followed by amendments to the Small Enterprises Act on the 8th.

Minister Owen Bonnici’s traffic reform will be debated in Parliament on 14 and 15 February.

The opposition requested that, on Thursday 19 January, the House debate private member’s motion 252 on Electrogas, first presented by Mario De Marco, Marthese Portelli and Claudio Grech on 25 June 2015.

At the end of Monday’s meeting, Speaker Anglu Farrugia advised the committee that he would be chairing a session of the College of Commissioners which will be meeting in Malta this Wednesday, and invited members of the government and opposition to attend. 

The committee also agreed to extend by one year the placement contract of Kenneth Curmi, Parliament’s official representative to the EU, which contract was set to expire on Thursday, 12 January.