Parliamentary Secretary Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici said there was nothing in the law that prohibited him from seeing a sample of official letters filed at the court registry.

Contrary to what was said by Labour MP Anglu Farrugia, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said the section of the law quoted referred to documents related to court cases and not official letters. He also pointed out that all court documents, except those on adoption or other child matters, were public and therefore anybody could go there, view them and even take copies.

Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, he defended the director-general of the law courts, citing clause 65. He said responsibility for official letters rested with the director-general of the law courts, who delegated his authority to the director, civil affairs.

Therefore it was perfectly legal for him to ask to see some of the official letters. They were sent to his office by messengers and returned within a short time. Everything was above board and there was nothing illegal.

The director general had therefore acted within the law and Dr Farrugia’s call for his resignation was unfair, the parliamentary secretary said.

Parliament on Tuesday continued debating the bill to implement the budget measures.

In his intervention, Resources and Infrastructure Minister Ninu Zammit said the government is planning a major flood relief project for Birkirkara which will involve the catchment of storm water coming from Mosta, Naxxar, Iklin, Attard and Balzan, its storage in galleries and its use for irrigation.

Mr Zammit said the PN government had invested heavily to resolve Malta’s water problem. It also built a new power station, the airport terminal, extensions to the university, and homes for the elderly.

He said that while the Labour Party was complaining about cost over-runs, the Bugibba project under Labour cost 40 per cent more.

Mr Zammit also spoke at length about the government’s efforts to encourage the use of energy saving equipment and the ministry’s involvement in many embellishment and restoration projects.

Earlier in the debate, Labour MP Carmelo Abela said there was no political controversy on euro adoption but all issues had to be analysed carefully.

On the NSO, he asked whether it made sense to revise statistics which went back 10 years.

The Labour MP also spoke about unemployment and the MLP’s policy document for youths, saying the party wanted to introduce financial incentives for business start-ups.

Turning to education, Mr Abela said school building and education structures were important, but the provision of quality education was the most important priority.

Labour MP Roderick Galdes criticised the government for lack of planning ahead in the purchase of a new incinerator for the abattoir. He said the people of Marsascala were being negatively affected by the Sant’Antnin waste recycling plant project, while the people of Xewkija in Gozo now had a waste storage facility even though technical studies showed that there was a better site.

He also criticised the government over the power surcharge, saying this was not having the desired effect but was only hitting people’s pockets.

Parliamentary Secretary Edwin Vassallo said this budget facilitated business growth, whether it was by SMEs or major investors. This government had created a business environment which was safe and encouraged even more investment.

Winding up, Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech referred to comments by Labour MP Charles Mangion. He said that although the government only needed to borrow Lm50 million for its budgetary gap this year, it was seeking authorisation to borrow up to Lm100 million in case it wanted to pay off debts and benefit from local borrowing at more favourable rates.

He insisted that the government had no intention of raising VAT.

The bill was given a second reading after a division.