Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/221559
News maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 4 DECEMBER 2013 Government to introduce registry for disabled persons JAMES J. PISCOPO THE government will introduce a register that will include data about all the persons with disability in Malta, Parliamentary Secretary Franco Mercieca announced this morning. Addressing a KNPD conference entitled 'Inclusion, Participation and Accessibility', Mercieca said that current statistics were "inadequate and incomplete". "It is useless to embark on initiatives and projects without knowing the real needs of these persons. What is their disability? What serv- ices do they need? This is part of a long-term plan for this sector. We believe in equal opportunities and the government is committed to deliver the concept of a just and fair society," Mercieca said. The setting-up of this register will be funded through the European Social Fund. Speaking during the conference, Nationalist MP Stephen Spiteri said the Nationalist Party would adopt a bipartisan approach in addressing the challenges of this sector. He also encouraged the government to introduce incentives that will increase employability of such persons. Alternattiva Demokratika chairperson Arnold Cassola noted several measures introduced in the past budget "which however were not enough". The KNPD presented the findings of a survey carried out with 600 disabled persons, which concluded that the income of disabled persons is relatively low. The vast majority of participants said they depended on their retirement pensions or social benefits. Judicial protest over Ta' Hagrat permit ENVIRONMENTAL NGO Flim- kien ghall-Ambjent Ahjar yesterday morning filed a judicial protest against the approval of a development site close to Ta' Hagrat Temples at Mgarr. On 6 September 2013, MEPA approved an application 'to remove existing structure and construct dwelling' in Triq San Pietru, Mgarr. However a number of residents objected to the construction of twostorey residences. FAA also argued that the site was very close to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ta' Hagrat Temples. In its 'policy concerning areas and sites of archaeological importance', MEPA established a minimum buffer zone of at least 100m around the periphery of the site in which no development is allowed. The approved permit allows for the removal of a single room used a garage to make way for the development of a structure ten times its size. The NGO said that when an application was filed for the development of land adjacent to the area where MEPA approved development in, the Superintendent for Cultural Heritage had expropriated the land in a bid to protect the conservation of Ta' Hagrat Temples. In its judicial protest, FAA urged the Superintendent for Cultural Heritage to apply the same measure and expropriate the land MEPA had now approved for development. Lawyer Michael Sciriha and legal procurator Jean Pierre Busuttil signed the judicial protest.