Tweaking construction rules without increasing enforcement resources is pointless and an exercise in deceiving the public, the Democratic Party said on Saturday.

“Prime Minister Dr Joseph Muscat has admitted that the enforcement of building regulations by the authorities is insufficient, but then made no commitment to increasing human resources to upgrade enforcement.  What is the point of tweaking the law when excavation rules are not enforced?” the party asked.

Existing laws already included several provisions intended to ensure site safety and responsible excavation practices, the PD noted. But in many cases, those requirements were just ignored by regulatory authorities.

There was no indication that this would change in the future, it added.

Government is in the process of fast-tracking legal changes to construction and excavation laws as a reaction to the sudden collapse of three buildings adjacent to excavation sites.

The revised rules, which were released on Monday for a five-day consultation period, are intended to clarify stakeholder responsibility and set significantly increased fines for law-breakers, among other things.

A lack of emphasis on enforcement, however, has alarmed the PD.

Legislators had introduced a law in 2011 which required the government officially recognise and authorise contractors to carry out building work, the party noted. Eight years on, authorities had yet to create a register of building contractors or list of certified masons.

“The PM’s failure to commit the government to better enforcement sends the wrong signal that building contractors can continue to do as they please because the Government will not check on them,” said PD MP Godfrey Farrugia.

Earlier on Saturday, the Church’s Environment Commission said that it was concerned that people who were partially to blame for the “dire straits” Malta’s construction sector found itself in were among those leading the search for solutions.