I refer to Lino Spiteri’s article ‘Getting real on immigration’ (The Sunday Times of Malta, July 14). Spiteri asks whether owners of vacant buildings are prepared to offer temporary accomodation to irregular migrants. He also asks whether the bishops are prepared to offer empty monasteries and convents to house such migrants. Well, why doesn’t he set an example and offer his country residence for the same purpose?

He also suggests a temporary tax to raise funds for the Government to deal with irregular migrants. May I suggest that Spiteri contact the Prime Minister and his ministers and parliamentary secretaries, together with the over 200 officials the new government employed upon taking office to offer a substantial sum of their over €2million salaries, paid by us taxpayers. I am sure that they will contribute enough funds to solve the irregular migrant problem.

Maybe Spiteri is feeling nostalgic for the days when he was a minister in the old Mintoff government, when government employees were forced to work for free on Saturdays.