Joseph Muscat yesterday defended his decision to grant special permission to parliamentary secretary for the elderly Franco Mercieca to continue his practise as an eye surgeon.
This “limited waiver” granted to Mr Mercieca breaches the Code of Ethics for members of Cabinet, which the Government is currently reviewing.
Dr Muscat yesterday told the press that Mr Mercieca was the only Cabinet member granted this special concession due to the limited supply of surgeons with his specialisation.
“He is not an architect or a lawyer,” said Dr Muscat, stressing that this decision was taken in the interests of patients.
Dr Muscat said his Government believed in “common sense” and there was nothing wrong with Mr Mercieca practising on a limited basis. “Mr Mercieca has specialisations that few people in our country have and I felt he should be given permission to carry out some limited work so that patients do not suffer... at least until there are enough people specialised in this area,” Dr Muscat said.
Asked whether the code of ethics was of no importance to him, Dr Muscat pointed out that in his first Cabinet meeting he had called for the code to be updated for today’s needs. The Times...
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