The Parliamentary Secreta-riat for the Elderly and Community Care denied that between 25 and 30 June there had been any deaths at St Vincent de Paul home for the elderly that could be attributed to the warm weather.

It said the Labour media were circulating misleading reports about the home.

The secretariat said the air-conditioning systems were mechanical and, as was to be expected, they failed from time to time. Immediate steps were always taken when this happened but the warmer the weather, the more the equipment was used, and the more likely it was that the equipment would fail. There was no magic wand to get it going again.

The government was continually improving the system, and at present some Lm150,000 was being invested to install new air conditioning systems in two halls. Another tender was expected to be issued in the coming days for two other halls to also be equipped with air conditioning.

The secretariat said it would be appropriate for the opposition’s spokesmen to tell everyone what investment Labour administrations had made in air-conditioning systems at St Vincent de Paul. According to its research, Labour administrations had not done anything in this regard, said the secretariat.