Malta’s new Parliament, with a record-breaking total of 79 MPs, is costing the taxpayer at least €1,460,819.7 annually.  

Through the gender quota mechanism, which was passed into law just over a year ago, 12 more women MPs were elected to Parliament, increasing the female representation. There are now 22 women MPs, including 10 who were elected through the normal electoral process.  

All MPs except for Cabinet members (ministers and parliamentary secretaries) receive an honorarium which is set at 50% of scale of the public sector salary grades.

Salary scales increase every year to adjust for the rise in the cost of living. This year Scale 1 increased to €47,742. This means that the honorarium for MPs currently stands at €23,871.

Out of the 79 MPs, 54 receive the honorarium, which adds up to a total of €1,289,034.

This figure, however, does not include extra allowances such as those given to Party Whips and the chairperson of Parliamentary committees, such as the Public Accounts Committee and Public Appointments Committee. Parliament has 17 such committees.

The figure also does not include the salaries of the Opposition Leader, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker and Parliament staff.

According to publicly available information, the Speaker’s salary is set at 105% of Scale 1 (€50,129), while the Opposition Leader earns a Scale 1 salary (€47,742).

Furthermore, Gozitan MPs receive an extra allowance per sitting.

Questions sent to the Speaker’s office weeks ago asking for a breakdown of Parliament’s wage bill remain unanswered, but calculations worked out by this newsroom lead to a conservative estimate of over €1.4m per year.

 

Cabinet salaries

This figure does not include the salaries of Cabinet members, whose salaries are paid out by their respective ministries.

The Prime Minister has an annual package of around €65,941.5, which includes a salary of €59,667.5 based on 125% of Scale 1, a cash allowance of €441 and a duty allowance of €5,823.

Ministers earn a total annual salary of €52,516.2 (110% of salary scale Grade 1), together with a €5,823 allowance and an additional cash allowance of €380. This brings the total minimal salary for a single minister up to €58,719.2, bringing the total costings for all 18 ministers up to €1,056,945.6

These calculations do not include additional salaries that are given to ministers who are also head of parliamentary committees.

Parliamentary secretary wages stand at a minimum of €50,129.10 (105% of salary scale Grade 1). This position also comes with an additional €5,823 and a cash allowance of €370, making the total per individual as €56,322.1. This brings the minimum grand total for the current six parliamentary secretaries up to €337,932.6.

These figures do not include ministry staff, such as members of the ministers’ private secretariat, which include spokespersons and personal assistants.

With 25 members, Robert Abela’s current Cabinet is slightly smaller than his previous one (26 members), but still much larger than previous Cabinets.

Lawrence Gonzi’s 2008 Cabinet was only made up of 15 people, a decision that was criticised when it became apparent that many ministries were overburdened.

When compared to other European countries, Malta’s MPs are among the lowest paid. In 2015, The Malta Independent had reported that a government-commissioned report had proposed a significant increase in the salaries of Cabinet members and MPs. The report was never adopted.

During the Gonzi administration, there was also an issue with the honorarium received by MPs. Back then, Cabinet members received their honorarium over and above their government salary and a scandal had broken out when the Parliament allowance was increased by some €500 a week. Eventually, the amount was reduced and MPs paid back the difference. Cabinet members stopped receiving an honorarium in 2013.

 

Cabinets in previous legislatures

 

2008 Gonzi Cabinet

Prime Minister, eight ministers and six parliamentary secretaries

Total: 15

 

Muscat 2013 Cabinet

Prime Minister, 14 ministers and eight parliamentary secretaries

Total: 23

 

Muscat 2017 cabinet

Prime Minister, 13 ministers and 10 parliamentary secretaries

Total: 24

 

Abela 2020 Cabinet

Prime Minister, 17 ministers and eight parliamentary secretaries

Total: 26

 

Abela 2022 Cabinet

Prime Minister, 18 ministers and six parliamentary secretaries

Total: 25