The Civil Protection Department had little say in the recruitment process that resulted in the selection of two “convicted criminals”, Times of Malta has learnt.

Sources said that the successful applicants were selected by the Home Affairs Ministry and the role of the Civil Protection Department was limited to “making some suggestions”.

The issue was flagged in Parliament this week by Nationalist Party deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami, who questioned how “two convicted criminals” had joined the ranks of the CPD.

The recruitment was carried out last year following a call issued in The Malta Government Gazette on January 31, 2014, and applicants were assessed by a selection board whose remit was “to determine their suitability for the position”.

The Home Affairs Ministry gave a generic reply when asked by Times of Malta how two people with a criminal record could join the department. A spokeswoman said one of the two men mentioned by Dr Fenech Adami in Parliament – Natalino Spiteri – had “never joined” the department.

However, a list with marks allocated to applicants after an assessment, which was seen by this newspaper, shows that Mr Spiteri had exceeded the pass mark and his name appeared in 41st place, followed by the names of many other applicants.

The ministry said there had been 42 places up for grabs; four of the selected candidates declined the offer, so the four next in line were chosen.

The ministry did not comment about the second man, Jonathan Callus, who ranked second.

In 2006, a court found Mr Callus and Mr Spiteri guilty of car insurance fraud and slapped them with a suspended sentence and a five-year general interdiction.

“All recruitments, including the individuals mentioned by the Opposition spokesman, followed the standard procedures of the Public Service Commission, which is an independent constitutional body,” the spokeswoman said.

She said the recruitment was part of a plan to strengthen the department in the wake of comments made by its chief, John Rizzo, who complained in August 2013 the CPD had been forgotten for a number of years. “As a result, the total number of assistance and rescue officers has gone up to 180,” she said.

This newspaper asked for the names of the selection board members and what role the CPD had in the process but no reply was forthcoming from the ministry.

Sources raised concerns about the ministry’s decision to raise the applicants’ age limit, which now ranges between 18 and 55. They said it made no sense for a 55-year-old to start a career as an assistance and rescue officer.

“The age of the selected candidate in such a strenuous job is very sensitive,” the sources pointed out.

Questions about the reasons behind the higher age limit also went unanswered.

Speaking in Parliament during the debate on the Civil Protection (Amendment) Bill on Wednesday, Dr Fenech Adami called on Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela to shoulder responsibility for what he described as a “work for votes” scandal. He said the call was nothing more than a “scheme” devised to employ people close to the Labour Party, even at the cost of breaching eligibility criteria.

Dr Fenech Adami noted that in spite of the fact that applicants had to be of “good moral conduct”, this criterion had been “thrown out the window” because two “convicted criminals” had been selected.

He advised the minister to “tread with caution” and “keep his eyes wide open”, saying that Mr Abela had inherited “an accident waiting to happen” when taking over the ministry from Manuel Mallia, who was sacked by the Prime Minister in December after a shooting in-cident involving his driver.

He said Mr Abela should stop trying to shed responsibility, since he had now been at the helm of the ministry for six months.

Dr Fenech Adami remarked that weeks before the call was issued people close to Labour were “advised” to join the CPD volunteer corps because such experience would be considered an asset. He said more than three-quarters of those chosen turned out to be “fake”, since they had only enrolled to then land the full-time job.

He thought it ironic that the House was legislating to introduce the option of early retirement for CPD employees at 55, when the ministry deemed candidates of exactly that same age as being fit enough to join its ranks.