Predictably, on a day when more than one paper and from different stables, carried stories about former Health Minister Joe Cassar and his undeclared loans of helps from Joe Gaffarena, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat entered the fray at the culminating point of his Sunday morning political activity, which was held in Valletta.

It-Torca carried a photo of a VAT receipt for €800 issued on behalf of Joe Gaffarena in conjunction with works carried out in his house. And Maltatoday claimed that Joe Gaffarena paid a €8,150 bill for construction works carried out at the MP's Dingli home; that Dr Cassar paid a €1000 donation to PN a year after purchasing a car from Gaffarena's son and that he hurriedly sold the car days after the revelation of Gaffarena's expropriation scandal.

Speaking at Valletta, Dr Muscat tackled the issue in a jokey manner.

First we had MPs claiming they forgot all about a clock and now we have MPs claiming they forgot about a car.

Dr Cassar would have us believe he did not know that somebody else paid for what he himself had not paid.

This is not the first time that Leader of the Opposition Simon Busuttil defends his MPs, Dr Muscat said.

First we had an MP who send workers to do work in a PN club and then got them to deny on oath they had done so.

Then we had an MP who met a person involved in the oil scandal and later said he could not remember.

THis is now the real test of Dr Busuttil, the prime minister said, or else he can be called Mr Double Standards.

On the contrary, in the past weeks, police have taken steps regarding allegations of abuse at Identity Malta.

Earlier, the prime minister listed the amount of people who are or will be benefiting from the Budget benefits:

- 160,000 will pay less Income Tax

- By next year all Maltese citizens will be paying less Income Tax

- 23,000 pensioners on a minimum pension will get more than the cost of living increase

- 25,000 pensioners will pay less Income Tax

- 5,000 Services pensioners will get an increase in their pensions

- Another 5,000 pensioners such as Dockyard pensioners will get an increase

- 1000 widows will get an increased pension

- A further 1,000 who became self-employed at a late stage of their working lives will get an increase in their pensions

- 3200 pensioners and 800 widows will begin to get their pensions the day after they register or become widows

- Thousands will get a higher pension than allowed by the PN government

- Thousands of students will get higher credits as an incentive to continue studying

- And people near retirement age can remain working for a further three years, after agreement with their employers and will later get a higher pension than they would have got today