The Housing Authority will soon launch a system of profiling all applicants for social housing, rather than just examining their financial means.

Answering a supplementary question by government Whip Carmelo Abela, Social Solidarity Minister Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca told Parliament that if it had not been for its official duties, the Housing Authority would have folded up years ago because of its dire financial situation.

The profiling system was being resorted to because although some had a regular income, they still needed help. She gave the example of a single mother of four who had a full-time job as a nursing aide but was paying over €300 a month for accommodation and had to provide single-handedly for all her children’s needs.

Ms Coleiro Preca said she saw every application for social housing as an opportunity to investigate the sources of people’s problems, rather than just the symptoms.

She said the previous administration had rented 400 units at €400 a month, but with no financial sustainability because those 400 vulnerable families would have to move out once their 10 years were up.

Here Nationalist MP George Pullicino interrupted her.