Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/956412
maltatoday WEDNESDAY 21 MARCH 2018 News 3 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 He said that as a nation that was proud of its lan- guage, and that wanted to strengthen it, it made sense to oblige foreign- ers living in Malta to learn Maltese. "I think we must oblige them to learn Maltese because I think that if they are living among us they should have respect for us and learn the lan- guage," he said, adding that he felt insulted by people who said they could live in Malta without needing to learn the language. Given that the teaching pro- gramme would be intended for foreign students it needed to be taught differently to standard Maltese. "Everyone understands that people who were not born in the country and who aren't used to the language need to have it taught as a foreign lan- guage," Bartolo said. He said that in the same way that Malta had successfully been teaching English as a foreign language, through the TOEFL course, it wanted to ensure that Maltese schools were equipped to teach Mal- tese as a foreign language. The minister stressed that it was not the case that all Maltese students would be allowed to learn Maltese as a foreign language, while pointing out that only 61% of Maltese fifth form students obtained a grade between one and five in their Maltese O'level. It was clear, he said, that Maltese needed to be taught in a more effective manner. Furthermore, he said that studies of European languag- es had found that Maltese was one of four languages that were most at risk. He said something very few people considered was the lack of digital content in Maltese when compared with English language content. This, he said, put Maltese at a disadvantage. Asked about whether entry requirements to the Univer- sity of Malta would change, Bartolo stressed that this was up to the university. He added, however, that he believed that Maltese needed to remain a requirement and that the requirement should also be considered for entry into MCAST and the Institute for Tourism Studies. Evarist Bartolo Foreigners in Malta should show some respect and learn Maltese – minister YANNICK PACE GOVERNMENT and Opposition MPs have agreed on amend- ments to the Explosive Ordi- nance Act in order to ensure that a majority of the coun- try's fireworks factories are not forced to close down. In a landmark decision, the Court of Appeal ruled on 26 January that the St Mary Mosta fireworks factory in Zebbiegh, limits of Mosta, had to close down because it did not respect the safety distance from a public road. The court's interpretation of what constitutes a road would effectively put the majority of the country's fireworks factories in breach of the law. Addressing parliament yester- day evening Home Affairs min- ister Michael Farrugia said the government wanted to amend an anomaly in the law, which had led the courts to interpret it in a manner that was different to what had been intended when the law was originally drafted. "We will be clarifying this again to allay any doubts about what the word 'street' means," said Farrugia, adding that this affected how the legally re- quired 183-metre distance from a fireworks factory to the near- est road was calculated. He said it was not always pos- sible to err on the side of caution and that in this case it was more important for those working in fireworks factories to be trained properly, and for the necessary safety standards to be observed. Another change the Bill will introduce was in the require- ments required for one to be granted a fireworks manufac- turing licence. He said that as things stood, the law prevented people with criminal records from having their licence re- newed, but did not stop them from getting it in the first place. The law also proposes that people will mental disorders will also be prohibited from obtain- ing such a licence. Opposition Home Affairs spokesperson Beppe Fenech Adami said that given that the court's decision had effectively created a situation were a major- ity of factories could not operate legally, the amendments were necessary. "In principle we agree," he said. "We have an obligation to avoid a situation were all fireworks factories can't operate." Fenech Adami said that while he felt the amendments were necessary, one could not ignore the fact that the winning party in the court case in question was now going to have the court's decision nullified by parliament. In light of this, he urged the gov- ernment to consider some form of compensation for those who had "justified preoccupations". He questioned, however, whether more leeway needed to be applied when consider- ing whether people with mental disorders should be granted a licence. This was echoed by Nationalist MP Mario Galea who stressed that while unintentional the provision further stigmatised people with mental disorders. He said the majority of peo- ple with a mental illness were not violent and did not want to harm others or themselves. The clause, he said, could result in a situation where people avoided seeking treatment out of fear of not being able to practise their hobby. Galea pointed out that there was no similar restrictions placed on surgeons or policemen who carried firearms. Moreover, he said eating disorders also qualified as mental disorders, but were hardly reason enough for one to be banned from a fire- works factory. Instead, he suggested that factories should have a mental health policy that was able to spot potential issues early, rath- er than lump people with men- tal health problems in the same basket as criminals. In his closing remarks, Farru- gia acknowledged Galea's points and the wording was changed to require those with mental health problems to require a doctor's certificate Democratic Party MP Godfrey Farrugia said the 183m-distance was enough to ensure safety in the eventuality of an accident, which he said would leave a 10m crater. Debris, he said would not travel more than 183m. Farrugia also stressed that a history of criminal activity and mental health problems should be placed in separate sub-arti- cles in the law. MPs agree over legal changes to law governing fireworks factories