The government unveiled its budget for 2023 on Monday night. Robert Abela called it a budget that put people at its centre, while Bernard Grech slammed the lack of long-term economic plan... 

William Grech

William Grech, father of two children aged under three, nurse by profession:

“As a parent, I was glad to see that the free childcare scheme and subsidies for extracurricular activities were retained and am happy with an increase of €90 in the children’s allowance.

“The weekly €9.90 cost-of-living adjustment for all workers and additional €3.50 for public sector employees was also welcome, despite it being taxable.

“Every week, the bill for basic necessities, including items for babies and children, keeps increasing by more than €9.90 a week, however, having the issue acknowledged and addressed is a positive step.”

As a nurse Grech was however disappointed – although not surprised – that the nursing profession and the challenges it is facing were not acknowledged in next year’s budget speech, unlike other professions, such as teaching.

“I was not surprised as it reflects the way nurses are being treated by the government such as when it comes to shortage of nurses and all the issues this brings with it, including high patient to nurses ratio and burnout among staff,” said Grech, who also sits on the Malta Union for Midwives and Nurses council.

Nurses were, once again, not offered any family-friendly measures, including flexible working conditions that would encourage parents to return to the profession.

Alex Gaglione

Alex Gaglione, law student

Gaglione felt there was very little reference to youths and students in this year’s budget other than the stipend increase.

Students will receive an increase to their stipend based on the cost-of-living adjustment, equivalent to an average increase of €50 a year.

“Stipend increases are always appreciated, but there needs to be more focus on pushing the prescribed courses reform being carried out by the stipends’ board,” the 22-year-old fifth-year student said.

Certain students receive a higher stipend because their course would be considered ‘prescribed’.

“These stipends haven’t been updated in years, and the budget should have referenced it to ensure appropriate and adequate wages for students, especially those who have incurring costs like equipment and uniforms,” she said.

Another concern Gaglione raised was the lack of discussion on minimum wage, which also impacts students.

“Junior College’s decision to offer an extended four-year programme to allow students to work part-time and juggle their studies is a clear sign that many students need the money.”

She also said no reference was made to the accessibility of contraceptives.

“Malta has the most restricted abortion laws in Europe, and yet access to contraception is seldom prioritised.”

Back in March, the Labour Party promised the contraceptive and morning-after pills will be distributed free of charge by all pharmacies and health centres if the party was to be re-elected to government.

“In general, whilst there are a number of satisfactory proposals, there does seem to be a lack of long-term thinking.” 

Karen Buttigieg

Karen Buttigieg, parent of a 10-year-old child with a disability, lecturer by profession:

The biggest positive takeaway from the 2023 budget for people with a disability is a substantial grant for parents who quit work to look after their children. Up until this year, parents who could not work as they cared for children with a disability aged 16 or over, received an allowance of a few hundred euros.

They will now receive €4,500 a year – nearly the equivalent of half the minimum wage, which goes a long way at recognising the role of parents of people with a disability, according to Buttigieg.

Buttigieg, who is also vice president of the National Parents Society of Persons with Disability, believes the grant is a good first step that could also be extended to parents of children with a disability aged under 16.

“Every little bit is welcome, however there is always room for improvement. One issue that wasn’t tackled by next year’s budget is unpaid carers’ leave. Parents of people with a disability who can work, would rather work, and carers’ leave is usually needed when they have to accompany their children for a hospital appointment.

And while the new €200 tax credit for expenses linked to therapy for children with a disability is a good thing, it stops short of tackling the issue of therapy holistically.

“Therapy is needed weekly, not monthly. Bolstering the professional complement would be cost-effective not just for the parents themselves, but also the government in the long term.”

Meanwhile, the announced €4.2 million investment in personal assistants and services for people with disability is an important step forward towards more independent living in the community across the board.

Annalisa Schembri

Annalisa Schembri, Freelance professional in the arts

A professional in the arts and culture industry, Annalisa felt the budget gave little thought to the sector.

While she praised the budget’s allocation of €26 million towards public cultural organisations, and the implementation of a reduced tax rate of 7.5 per cent VAT for authors, she felt there was little contribution towards the industry itself.

“There are no incentives to entice the private sector to invest in arts and culture, no investment in physical spaces, such as rehearsal space, theatres or spaces that can be used for other forms of art,” she said.

“We build roads and roads to keep piling up traffic, so we better start building spaces for the arts.”

She added there needs to be proper institutional infrastructure around the way freelance professionals are seen.

There was a need for basic pay and income for artists, art workers, and professionals such as herself who work in the creative industry but do not hold the title of artists need a more stable income.

“Freelance practice requires so much more importance and this budget has come and gone and certain professions remain sidelined, overlooked, and invisible,” she said.

“We do not live and operate in silos, my profession exists within an economic, social and environmental ecosystem that helps in the creation of sustainable development”

Maria Dalli, pensioner

Maria feels the increase in senior citizens’ basic pension is never enough but this year it’s a bit different.

“In previous years, we saw an increase of €5 a week, which is not enough for elderly people like myself, who still have expenses and are trying their best to live a healthy life,” she said.

That is why this year’s announcement that pensioners will see a weekly increase of €12.50, inclusive of the cost of living was an “extremely positive” measure for Maria.

“I believe this budget really caters to pensioners and the elderly, I am happy and I cannot complain,” she said.

She said she was also happy with other measures, even if they do not impact her directly.

“There are a number of measures for workers and students which I might not benefit from directly, but in reality, they impact my family. I see that my grandchildren will benefit from improvement in our education system.”

Still, she believed there were a few topics that could have been mentioned.

“While there is a lot of medication I get from the government formulary (for free), there are still some which I must pay from my pension, and they are expensive,” she said.

“I pay €38 for cholesterol tablets and €20 for a Vitamin D spray.  While perhaps they cannot be added to the government formulary, can I not get them at a slightly cheaper price?”

She also pointed out the need for more efficient public transport. While free public transport was introduced this month, not much was mentioned on how to improve its efficiency, apart from the budget’s promise for further electrification of the bus fleet.

“What is the point if all the buses are free, if they do not arrive on time. I am aware there is a lot of traffic, but there have been times when I have a hospital appointment and my bus does not arrive at the station at all.”