The Prime Minister this morning justified the increases being given in the salaries of ministers and the honoraria of MPs.

Speaking in a radio interview, he said he could not understand how the issues were being discussed now, when they were decided more than two years ago.

Dr Gonzi recalled that at the time (May 2008) he had taken a number of decisions.

It was decided that ministers, and the leader of the opposition, on leaving office, should be given assistance to help them return to their former careers, which was not always easy.

He had also changed the rule which had precluded some civil servants, such as teachers and nurses, from also serving in Parliament.

It was also decided that it was not right that ministers and the leader of the opposition, who devoted their full time to the service of the country, lost their honorarium as MPs. This had been unfair because other MPs, who did not hold public office, were able to practice their professions while receiving their honorarium from Parliament.

It had also been decided that the honoraria should be reviewed, for the first time since 1990.

Dr Gonzi said it was hypocrisy of some within the Opposition to now claim they did not know about the changes, when they had been asking about them for a long time.

The reviews of MPs honoraria was justified in view of their increased duties, including duties abroad, Dr Gonzi said.

Asked whether the timing of the increases was wrong, Dr Gonzi insisted that these were decisions taken more than two years ago