Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg has resisted calls to shoulder political responsibility for the death of 54-year-old Miriam Pace when her house collapsed last week, saying it was only after this incident that the Opposition branded the construction regulations reform enacted last year as a failure.

“Unlike what happened when the government enacted legal notices on billboards and e-scooters, which the Opposition had challenged in parliament,  the construction regulations were not attacked,” Borg said.

The infrastructure minister made this remark in reply to a series of questions in parliament from Nationalist MPs Ryan Callus, Robert Cutajar and Beppe Fenech Adami.

Fenech Adami pointed out that in a Facebook post uploaded on July 1, the minister had hailed the revised regulations as bringing “peace of mind to neighbours living alongside construction sites”.

“Don’t you feel the need to shoulder an iota of responsibility?” Fenech Adami asked.

However, Borg insisted that the Opposition had no credibility on the matter. Had it really been concerned about the regulations it would have taken action immediately, he said. 

However, he acknowledged that self-regulation in the construction industry had failed.

Looking ahead he said the committee of experts appointed by the government was looking at various options to strengthen regulations further.

“Should site technical officers be accompanied by officials from the respective authorities? Should neighbours living alongside a construction site be given alternative accommodation until works are carried out?” he wondered.

Taking a dig at the media, the minister said he would not be reaching certain conclusions based on photographs of the site in Hamrun.

“How many times do we see people during the Sunday lunch drink excessively? We have an average of 20 persons dying on the roads. This is because people act irresponsibly and breach the laws. I look forward to learn the outcome of the Hamrun case,” he said.

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