John Dalli this evening reacted to comments by the Health Minister that he had not been engaged to draw up the Mater Dei Review report but had volunteered to do so.

In a statement, Mr Dalli said he was asked to help in the health ministry by the Prime Minister after the Minister of Health took the initiative. "I accepted as health is a national issue as is being proven today by the statements made even by the opposition," Mr Dalli said.

"When the minister said that I was not commissioned to make the report he meant that I was not paid for the report."

Mr Dalli said current speculation was an attempt to distract the focus of the Maltese people from the gross maladministration and bad practices in Malta's acute hospital.

He said he had accepted to make a review of Mater Dei Hospital on a voluntary basis. He did not take any executive position in the health ministry or at Mater Dei and did not take any decisions.

He reported his findings in a meeting he and others had with the prime minister and the prime minister requested him to put these in writing. "When one makes a review it is obvious that one reports his findings," Mr Dalli said.

"The Minister made his position very clear in his introductory remarks in the seminar on the report, that the report does not reflect the position of government."

Mr Dalli said the workshop announced by the minister was his decision and he was not involved.

"I do not know whether or how I will be involved in the implementation of the recommendations of the report. I am not part of the government and this is a decision to be made by them"

IT TENDER

With regard to the cancellation of the hospital IT tender, Mr Dalli said there was confusion between a €25million contract and the PAS system.

The €25 million contract had been in the process of adjudication for over two years. The process, he said, was stopped by MITA and was not reissued, let alone awarded to anyone

"The Ministry was informed that the PAS system was not to be supported any more by the suppliers after the end of the year and the ministry was told that the only option was to have an update. The cost would have been at least €2.5 million. Instead, the IT consultant in the ministry took it upon himself to develop a new system instead of the archaic one in use, and this without getting any extra payment. Even in the face of enormous hurdles he managed to develop the system which will be rolled out next week, well before schedule. In the process, the Maltese people saved €2.5 million," Mr Dalli said.