Updated 6.42pm

Claims that the government had spent €250 million more than originally intended were false and Nationalist Party MPs were "amateurs" for having quoted the figure, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said this afternoon.

Actual overspend totalled around €158m, which equated to 3.6 per cent of the original budget allocation, Prof. Scicluna said. 

The minister argued that there was nothing unusual about budget overspends and that this year's 3.6 per cent figure was the third-lowest in 16 years. 

"There is nothing shocking or out of the ordinary," the minister said.

Prof. Scicluna was speaking at a press conference held a few hours after the PN had called on him to explain the millions in overspending that had come to light in supplementary financial estimates for 2016. 

The estimates showed that the government's recurrent expenditure was €100 million more than initially budgeted with capital expenditure also up, PN deputy leader Mario de Marco said.

Examples of ballooning expenditure included:

• The Office of the Prime Minister spending more than triple its original €640,000 allotment for travel expenses
• The Tourism Ministry budgeting €9,000 for "professional services" but then spending €1 million
• The Malta Tourism Authority spending €15 million more than the €40.5 million that had been budgeted
• The Economy Ministry spending €2.5 million on contracts, when just €107,000 had been budgeted

Dr de Marco said that while the government went on a spending spree, the number of people at risk of poverty was steadily climbing.

Last year's overspending was on the low side, Prof. Scicluna said. Data: Finance Ministry

The PN deputy leader asked how the budget shortfall would be fixed, and if any government services would be cut to make up for the missing millions.

"It is clear that the government's budgeting processes are not working as they ought to," Dr de Marco said.

But Prof. Scicluna dismissed this analysis, saying that all extra expenditure was scrutinised and approved by Finance Ministry officials, in line with revenue growth.

He said revenue had grown faster than expected in 2016, which allowed the government to increase expenditure at a similar rate. This meant that the overspend would not impact on deficit or debt projections, the minister said, adding that deficit in 2016 is expected to clock off at 0.7 per cent.

Challenged to justify specific instances of overspending, the Finance Minister said that he could not delve into specific cases as he did not have details at hand, but that all monies allocated to ministries had to be approved by his ministry beforehand. 

During the PN's earlier press conference, PN shadow economy minister Claudio Grech said that the government was frittering away the €180 million in increased income tax revenues it was raking in, rather than investing them in infrastructural projects. 

PN MP and financial services spokeswoman Kristy Debono spoke along similar lines, saying that it would have been far wiser of the government to invest additional revenues in capital projects rather than the unbridled way in which ministerial budgets had been overrun. 

The €250 million figure first appeared in MaltaToday and was subsequently repeated by PN exponents, although a press release issued by the party this afternoon made no mention of it.