36 brand new mobile homes for refugees remain empty

Thirty-six brand new mobile homes at the Lyster Barracks in Hal Far have never been used due to the lack of manpower, Lt Col Brian Gatt said today.

Gatt, head of the detention services, was briefing the press during a tour of the detention centre in Hal Far.

Bought over a year and a half ago and which cost around €1 million financed by the EU, the mobile homes can be used to house irregular migrants during their stay at the detention centre. Currently, a total of 258 migrants reside at Lyster barracks, 153 of which are women whose age ranges between 18 and 60.

Meanwhile, the government is in the process of recruiting detention officers to increase its human resources.