Opposition leader Adrian Delia accused the government of “admitting failure” on social housing, lambasting the Prime Minister for suggesting that people should move on if their life situation improves.

Speaking at a political event in Lija, he said Joseph Muscat saw people as numbers and was offering no tangible solutions for people struggling with rising property costs.

“Today is the day the government admitted it has failed on social housing. In six years it has done absolutely nothing,” Dr Delia said.

“Now it has us between a rock and a hard place: more people are coming in, and property prices are going up.

“The government’s only guarantee is that things are going to get worse, that property prices will continue to rise and that even those who have access to social housing cannot expect to keep it,” he said.

The Prime Minister said earlier on Wednesday that people could not expect social housing “for life” and should make way for others in greater need if their circumstances improved.

The remarks were made at the announcement of a €50 million project that will see the building of 500 new social housing units financed by the National Development and Social Fund.

The Opposition leader also took aim at Dr Muscat for suggesting that longer life expectancies were exacerbating the housing situation.

“Joseph Muscat is lamenting the fact that our elderly are living longer,” he said. “This is chilling. It is a declaration that the government has utterly lost its soul.”

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