The economy may be growing at a rate of nearly 6 per cent but it is not overheating, Finance Minister Edward Scicuna told Times Talk. 

He said that the numerous cranes on the horizon showed that the infrastructure was reacting to the growth in demand coming from increased activity and a growing population.

However, he was also convinced that prosperity was trickling down across social levels, explaining that while it was impossible to expect zero poverty because of complex social reasons, the rate of deprived households had fallen steadily from 20 per cent when the Labour government was elected to around 8 per cent now.

He was also challenged about the negative reputation of the country following revelations in the Panama Papers and subsequent leaks, saying that "hyperbole" had made the situation sound far worse than it actually was.