The Nationalist Party does not believe in giving stipends to repeaters since there is a limit to public funds, although the party acknowledged the importance of stipends and would continue to improve them, deputy leader Simon Busuttil said this morning.

He was replying to a question by a student during the second election debate organized by the University Student Council. The student asked if the PN had any proposals similar to the PL proposal to give stipends to repeaters.

Dr Busuttil said the PN was aware that stipends formed part of a large chunk of government expenses.

"We award those students who work and move forward," he said, adding that there was a limit to how much could be spent on stipends. Having said that, he said the PN wanted to raise stipends according to cost of living index.

Asked how this will be done, he said that the COLA will be given pro rata according to the value of the stipend.

A law student asked PL candidate Owen Bonnici, who stepped in instead of the party's two deputy leaders, how he could trust Joseph Muscat, a former MEP who lobbied against EU accession, to, as Prime Minister, negotiate with other prime ministers in the EU without being laughed at. Dr Bonnici said that past results spoke for themselves.

Asked about how the PL will go about implementing the proposal to deliver medicines at home, given that they could only be delivered by busy pharmacists, he said that it considered training nurses, who were no longer in the profession, to do this job. There were various models possible and the PL did not want to commit itself.

AD deputy leader Carmel Cacopardo spoke about the importance of safeguarding the environment.