No action would be taken on Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg’s contentious development permit despite the Ombudsman’s recommendations, a spokesman for the Office of the Prime Minister said.

The spokesman was reacting to comments by outgoing Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino who, last week, criticised Prime Minister Joseph Muscat for failing to order a review of a controversial development permit issued to Dr Borg in Dingli.

The Ombudsman probed the issue last year and found that “complaints that planning policies had been incorrectly applied were justified”.

Chief Justice Emeritus Joseph Said Pullicino, whose term of office ended last week, had also concluded that the manner in which Dr Borg had gone about securing the permit had been “devious”.

The Prime Minister’s spokesman insisted the Ombudsman’s recommendations had not been ignored, adding that the government had instead acted on “very convincing” information from the planning authority. Mepa, he said, had argued that the Ombudsman’s report contained “technical shortfalls” that could not be overlooked.

“Based on these assessments, the government feels there is no further action to be taken,” he said.

Based on these assessments, the government feels there is no further action to be taken

Mepa chairman Vince Cassar said in December the Ombudsman’s report had drawn comparisons between two applications: that approved for Dr Borg and another similar one that had been rejected.

Mr Cassar had noted that the differing size of the two projects had been a “key material difference” which had informed the decision for one to be approved and the other rejected. Furthermore, the Ombudsman had failed to take into account a third permit, similar to that issued for Dr Borg, which had also been approved.

Had this been factored in, the Ombudsman’s findings would likely have been very different, the spokesman said.

The permit issue had also been investigated by the Permanent Commission Against Corruption, which looked into allegations of devious manoeuvring on Dr Borg’s part.

The government spokesman said that the commission had found no signs of wrongdoing and concluded that Dr Borg had not used his position to obtain any undue favour. Dr Said Pullicino, however, said that the commission’s findings did not negate the irregularities committed at Mepa.

The spokesman said the commission had not endorsed the Ombudsman’s report because it was not within that office’s competence.

He also objected to Dr Said Pullicino’s remarks that the public would judge the government on its inaction. The spokesman said the government had always respected the institution of the Ombudsman and “never attacked it”. He added this was contrary to what used to happen under the previous administration.

The Ombudsman has been criticised by members of this administration. When the House Business Committee was discussing the 2014 Ombudsplan, Social Dialogue Minister Helena Dalli had said Dr Said Pullicino had lacked the necessary credentials and that “public confidence in him had dropped”. She was later chastised by the Nationalist Party, which accused her of attacking the Ombudsman’s credibility.