Asked whether the Church was considering closing them down, Fr Zammit McKeon replied with another question: “What would you do if you had a business which was not returning a profit? We nearly never make a profit but at least we break even.”

He said Casa Leone in St Julian’s and Saura Home in Rabat each have two empty beds which was never the case since he took over the directorship of these homes in 1993.

Asked whether he had any

indication on what the reason could be, Fr Zammit McKeon said the several private homes for the elderly which are on the market had a drastic effect on the other homes including Church and government homes.

Another home for the elderly – the Little Sisters of the Poor Home – is expected to open its doors by the end of this year and is expected to further increase the number of beds available in Malta. By 2005, he said, the Church would have 800 beds available for the elderly.

Asked whether the waiting lists of homes could be transferred to other homes, Fr Zammit McKeon said they try to keep the elderly in the same area where they were brought up.

Asked to comment on the issue, parliamentary secretary for the elderly Helen D’Amato said

government-owned homes had waiting lists. She explained that government homes charged 60 per cent or 80 per cent of the total income of the elderly person, adding that maybe this was attracting more people than Church homes or private homes.

“The choice is theirs. I cannot restrict the number of homes for the elderly operating on the local market. Church homes are doing a sterling piece of work but people are opting to go to government homes. It depends on the level of service you need. I understand it is not an easy situation for the Church homes but people need to have various options running in parallel,” she said.