Expenses top up Labour MP’s financial package to €73,000

Labour MP Carmelo Abela is earning €73,000 a year from his three roles in politics, a document obtained following a Freedom of Information request by The Times shows.

Following a Cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat gave the Labour Whip a new role as a government spokesman without involving him in the executive, for which he is paid €31,421 a year.

But the contract also grants him an additional expense allowance of €6,000 a year and increases every year, and the use of a fully-expensed car with a financial value of €4,658 a year, bringing the total financial package as government spokesman to just over €42,000.

MORE The high cost of keeping government MPs happy

His contract also grants him the liberty to “act independently and not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority”

Apart from his government position, the Labour Whip is paid €20,604 in an MP’s honorarium and €10,302 for his role as Whip, bringing total remuneration for his three roles to €72,984.