An Ombudsman inquiry into planning permits issued for a property linked to Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg has been handed over to the Commission against Corruption for further review.
The report, about which few details were made available, was drawn up by Environment and Planning Commissioner David Pace within the Office of the Ombudsman.
Addressing a press conference on progress in a number of Ombudsman investigations, Mr Pace yesterday described his inquiry as a sort of “technical consultation” for the commission’s investigation into the specifics of the property deal.
Dr Borg told the Times of Malta that he had welcomed the inquiry when it was first announced and had no problem with the investigation process taking its natural course.
Mr Pace said the consultation report focused on the application of policies and procedures during the processing of an application by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority for an undisclosed property. He would not answer questions.
Dr Borg said he welcomed the inquiry and had no problem with the process
Mr Pace would not comment when asked if the property belonged to Dr Borg, however sources told this newspaper that the property under investigation was “connected” to Dr Borg. Dr Borg insisted his name was not listed on the permit under investigation.
The press conference also announced the latest developments on Hepatitis C patients’ struggle to be given costly medical treatment for free by the government.
Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino said that after months of pressure from his office and the media, the government had agreed to start providing the medication free of charge.
The medicine, Harvoni Regime, costs a staggering €75,000 per patient and was added to the schedule of medicines in the Social Security Act back in 2012 but was still not given out free of charge.
Around 1,000 patients are currently being deprived of the procedure.
Health Commissioner Charles Messina said the Health Department had now set strict criteria for patients who would start receiving the medication immediately.
For instance, they would have to have reached a certain degree of cirrhosis before receiving treatment.
The Ombudsman was requested to intervene on the matter by two Hepatitis C patients, one of whom had contracted the disease after using contaminated products given to him by the Health Department some 30 years ago.
The Ombudsman had received expert opinion that about 20 per cent of Hepatitis C patients would develop liver failure or cancer if untreated.
Health Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne had said the medication’s €75 million price tag would cripple the entire healthcare system. However, Mr Messina said negotiations had made significant headway.