Nationalist MP Jean-Pierrre Farrugia said today that he would donate the salary raise he has been given as an MP to the Stefano Borgonovo Foundation for research on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a condition which his wife suffers from.

Dr Farrugia said MPs were officially informed last Friday that their honorarium was to rise from 50% of pay scale one of the civil service, to 70%. The raise is backdated to May 12, 2008. The first raise will be given this month with the arrears following in due course.

Dr Farrugia had already voiced his opposition to the raise in comments to The Times and Bondiplus.

He said that despite the particular circumstances of his family, he did not feel comfortable taking a substantial, unexpected raise when the country could not afford to give a €1 raise in the supplementary allowance to the most needy couples in the country - something which he had complained about in the Budget debate.

Dr Farrugia said that as president of the House committee which had discussed assisted procreation, once a new law is enacted , he would also start up a fund to give fiscal incentives so that all frozen embryos would be implanted in the womb of biological or adoptive mothers.