St Patrick’s Day debacle

With about 30,000 people in attendance, there was plenty of cake to share around. Sadly, greed got in the way.

Last week was a very challenging one for many residents in St Julian’s. The celebration of St Patrick’s Day was once more a nightmare. Throughout the year, residents have to endure not only the irresponsible behaviour of those who daily throng our streets but also the selfishness of some business owners who are taking over our locality, including pavements and car spaces. Although residents are happy living in a cosmopolitan environment, irresponsible and selfish behaviour is proving too much for them to endure.

St Patrick’s Day is, then, the final insult. this event is a good excuse to binge. Sadly, it reinforces the culture of having fun through irresponsible consumption of alcohol. I am sure that if the police cared enough to administer the breathalyser test, they would have had a very busy night. But why bother? People, after all, came to have fun! The residents are not against people having fun, nor are they against entertainment outlets.

What irked some of them most was being unable to enter or leave their homes because too many people were blocking their way. Others had to endure music blaring till the early hours. Many had to face unrestrained youths, cleaning up their vomit or human waste from their door-steps. St Julian’s turned into an “orgy of binge drinkers”. In a civilised society, no one ought to have fun at the expense of others. St Patrick’s Day is not a community-based event, such as our annual feast or the Lapsi event, when the whole community comes together.

St Patrick’s is purely a private commercial event with the sole intent of making money – lots of money. In recent years, the St Julian’s local council has tried to contain the event in view of complaints received. It is within this context that last October a private entrepreneur approached the council and proposed better coordination.

All other commercial established outlets, as well as temporary outlets, were to be allowed, as in previous years. The same procedure adopted during the annual feast was followed. The organiser had to provide 30 mobile toilets at his own expense, employ ample security personnel, take out insurance cover, have an ambulance on standby, operate a helpline, pay a €2,000 fee to the council and pay for all the cleaning afterwards. In view of the fact that the council had in the previous years footed all these costs, the proposal was unanimously approved by the councillors. Although issuing a call for expressions of interest would have been more appropriate (as I and others pointed out to the council), the council had written comfort from its lawyer that it could grant exclusivity for the event.

On the other hand, by law, the council could only ask for a mere €23 for the permit and a €100 cleaning contribution. Last year, the cleaning bill was over €3,000 and the difference was paid from the council’s budget. Unfortunately, a few days before the event, the owners of particular commercial outlets objected and secured a court injunction. The council decided not to use public money to clean other people’s mess. Some years ago, the Floriana council had refused to clean up the Granaries after particular events, arguing that it was not right to pick up the cleansing bill while others made a comfortable profit.

While we appreciate those who were responsible enough to clean up afterwards, it is ironic that particular owners objected that others were given exclusive rights when they themselves expected to be exclusive. No one has a monopoly over Spinola Square. It belongs to all. With about 30,000 people in attendance, there was plenty of cake to share around.

Sadly, greed got in the way. What is the way forward? While lessons ought to be learned by all, including the local council, I envisage three options. Firstly, better coordination and communication with all stakeholders. Next time, the council ought to issue a call for expressions of interest to all interested parties, with a right of first refusal to local licensed outlets. We need to have everyone on board.

Second, if the central government considers that this event is a worthy one, similar to the isle of MTV, then it must step in and take responsibility for it. Thirdly, and this is my personal opinion reflecting the opinion of the majority of our residents, this event has outgrown our locality. It is no longer sustainable. In the same way as other festivals, such as the wine and beer festivals, moved to a more appropriate place with better traffic, health and safety arrangements, St Patrick’s Day should move outside our locality. Residents deserve better. The three options are open for an honest discussion and may be acceptable.

What is not acceptable is the greed of some who want to secure their own gratification above the common good. My responsibility is to safeguard and promote the interest of the many over the interests of the few. That’s why I entered politics.

(This article was published on The Sunday Times of Malta – 26 March, 2017)