More than €1.6 billion was spent on measures to address difficulties caused by the pandemic since 2020, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana told Parliament on Wednesday.

In reply to a question by PN MP Ivan Castillo, Caruana explained that  €1,665,609,000 was spent on support measures. Of this amount, €1,515,609,000 were funded through national funds.

Around €150 million was funded through the European Social Fund (€38.5 million) and REACT-EU (€111 million).

€662,574,000 was spent on measures in 2020, climbing to €706,375,000 last year and dropping to an estimated €296.6 million this year.

The measure that cost most over the years was the wage supplement, estimated to have cost around €842 million by the end of this year.

He also listed other assistance given to different categories such as the fisheries sector, the voucher scheme, tourism support schemes, assistance for homes for the elderly, reduction in capital gains tax and assistance to Heritage Malta to make up for the reduction in ticket sales, among others.

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