The government has been urged to issue €50 vouchers for all Maltese aged over 16 to help get bars and restaurants going once they are allowed to reopen.

The sector has been closed for weeks as part of measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The proposal was made by the Nationalist Party and is estimated to cost €17 million. The government would, however, recover €3m in VAT. The vouchers would be valid for a month.

The PN explained that the catering industry has been among the sectors hardest hit by COVID-19. The sector employed many thousands and the government needed to ensure it was in a position to recover.  

"The food and catering sector has contributed to the economy for many years. Now is the time for the government to invest in it," PN MP Hermann Schiavone said.

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