Parliamentary Secretary Franco Mercieca is carrying out routine eye operations against payment in clear breach of the special waiver from the ministerial code of ethics granted by the Prime Minister, an investigation by The Sunday Times of Malta has revealed.

Last Wednesday alone, Mr Mercieca performed three cataract operations and six cosmetic laser eye-correction operations at a private hospital in Sliema between 7am and 1pm.

Mr Mercieca was paid €400 per operation directly by his clients, a total of €3,600 for his half day’s work.

The code of ethics precludes ministers and parliamentary secretaries from continuing with their private work upon being appointed to an executive position in the government.

Mr Mercieca – an ophthalmic surgeon – has continued with his practice after Prime Minister Joseph Muscat gave him a waiver on grounds that he was performing “limited work” in his specialisation “so that patients do not suffer”.

Describing the issue as “a storm in a tea cup” last April when the controversy had first arisen, Mr Mercieca had told Times of Malta he was only following up patients he operated upon before becoming parliamentary secretary and who needed further medical assistance, such as further cataract interventions.

“If I operate on a Sunday instead of visiting a band club to see my constituents, I am (still) a full-time parliamentary secretary,” he had said.

Franco Mercieca.

According to an investigation carried out by this newspaper which compiled video evidence, Mr Mercieca is not only continuing to see his former patients but he has also taken on new patients since his appointment as parliamentary secretary to perform cataract operations and laser surgery to correct myopia.

Patients who underwent laser surgery performed by Mr Mercieca last Wednesday told The Sunday Times of Malta they had attended a lecture delivered by the parliamentary secretary last month in which he took bookings for laser operations until October.

A total of five lectures were held at the private hospital during an open day on May 4, with the first two addressed by Mr Mercieca.

Sources confirmed to this newspaper that Mr Mercieca has also continued to provide his ophthalmic services regularly, spending hours at the hospital every Wednesday and Thursday.

Mr Mercieca has also continued to see patients at two different clinics in Victoria on Fridays and Saturdays, although his attendance there is not as regular as it used to be.

The sources said that Mr Mercieca’s specialisation – which was used by the Prime Minister as a pretext to grant the limited waiver – is quite distinct from cataract and laser operations which are performed by a number of ophthalmic surgeons.

One of Mr Mercieca’s aides last Wednesday also confirmed that Mr Mercieca is still performing laser operations, on a weekly basis. “He has many bookings so you have to be fast (to be able to see him by July),” she said.

As a parliamentary secretary, Mr Mercieca, who resides in Gozo, is also entitled to priority boarding on the Gozo Channel ferry. Before the election he had complained after his priority status had been withdrawn under the previous administration.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has been forced to respond to criticism since taking office in March over breaches of the code of ethics by members of his team.

Apart from Mr Mercieca, Foreign Minister George Vella has also publicly admitted he is continuing to see patients even though he is not being paid for his services. Dr Vella also said he is not taking any new patients.

One of the first decisions taken by Dr Muscat upon his appointment as Prime Minister was to order a revision of the code of ethics. Three months down the line the new code is not yet complete.

During a meeting with Dr Muscat, new Nationalist leader Simon Busuttil insisted that Cabinet members should not be allowed to work privately.