Social Policy Minister Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca this evening again denied that there had been vindictive transfers at St Vincent de Paul Home.
She said there had been 85 transfers, of which 70 were requested by those concerned. It was obvious, she said, that vacated posts had to be filled. However she invited the Opposition to indicate any transfers which they considered vindictive.
Ms Coleiro Preca was taking part in a public consultation meeting, part of a series held with all members of the Cabinet.
She said a recently-completed audit of St Vincent de Paul Home had revealed several serious shortcoming.
For example, the dental clinic had no extractor for waste. Waste was being disposed on site, but it transpired that the fumes were a health hazard. Carcinogenic particles were found in the clinic.
Turning to other points, she said that a Commission for a Children’s Strategy and Policy had been set up under the chairmanship of Ruth Farrugia. There would also be changes in the Office of the Children’s Commissioner
A Commission has also been set up to look into the situation of Service Pensions and Services Pensions, while a Pensions Strategic Group would keep the wider pensions situation under review and hold consultations with all interested parties.
Ms Coleiro Preca also highlighted financial problems at the Housing Authority, which has a deficit of €2 million and commitments of €5m. Of particular concern, she said, was how the Skema Kiri was unsustainable in the long term.
She said the Authroity needed to give urgent attention to some 730 dangerous structures which needed to be repaired before the rains in September.
Parliamentary Secretary Franco Mercieca, who jokingly asked those present not to ask for ophthalmic appointments, said that his secretariat would in the coming says issue a call for expressions of interest for the provision of 300 beds by the private sector for the long-term care of dependant elderly people.
He said the role of the National Commission, Persons with Disability was being review, in that it was not right for the commission to be both a regulator and a services provider. He felt it should focus solely on the former.