The Government is still planning to use the new Parliament building but first solutions have to be found for the lack of office space, according to Infrastructure Minister Joe Mizzi.

“There are shortcomings that have to be solved… Experts must find a solution to these shortcomings,” Mr Mizzi said yesterday.

When asked whether the Labour Government was considering not moving into the new Parliament because of the lack of office space, he said: “We have to use it.”

He insisted that someone had to be held accountable for the situation.

“The population was promised a novelty Parliament and then finds all these shortcomings,” he added.

The Labour Government recently embarked on a review of the layout plans of the Renzo Piano Parliament.

It found that there was not enough space to house the offices of all 14 ministers and eight parliamentary secretaries.

The new building only has space for 16 ministerial offices.

There is also the concern that the building does not have enough space for all the parliamentary committees. The plans provide for four committee rooms.

When asked whether the current Parliament had enough office space, Mr Mizzi said it was useless looking at the shortcomings of the old system. The fact was that the new Parliament was “worse off” than the old one.

When contacted on Sunday, former Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt, the minister previously responsible for the Valletta project, refused to comment about the lack of office space saying he was now retired.