Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said in parliament this evening that his decision to use his personal car as the official car meant considerable savings for the exchequer, more so as he still paid for the insurance cover and any damage.

Replying to questions in parliament, Dr Muscat explained that when he was appointed prime minister, he was told that it was not viable to continue to use the former prime minister's official car.

That car had frequent breakdowns and the repair bill last year alone was some €58,000, apart from the costs of leasing a replacement car, which varied from €40 to €100 a day.

Civil Service officials invited him to select another car on the basis of specifications which the Civil Service considered appropriate for the prime minister and equivalent to the former prime minister's car.

He saw the projected cost as being too high and asked what alternatives there were.

Civil Service officials explained that under the former government, ministers had an official car and a secondary car. When they opted to use their personal cars as their secondary cars, they got an allowance of €7,000 - while keeping their primary official car.

To save funds, Dr Muscat said he opted to use his personal car as his primary car under the same terms used by the former ministers for their secondary cars.

In this way the government was saving a substantial amount of funds. This was the cheapest option for the taxpayers.

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil asked whether, in view of this gesture, other ministers could have followed the example and done the same thing. He also asked whether the prime minister could have opted to use an official car bought for less than what the allowance for his personal car would cost over five years. He also asked how appropriate it was for the prime minister to use his personal car.

Dr Muscat said his choice was the cheapest option, especially as he paid for his own car's insurance and any damage. Should an official car be bought, the government would cover all the costs.

The ministers, he said, had various options, but the former ministers' cars were still available.

Furthermore, if Dr Busuttil himself wanted to set an example, perhaps he could opt not to use an official car as Leader of the Opposition.

As for what was appropriate, the people would not decide according to the choice of car, but the way taxpayers' money was used.