The sons of EU Commissioner Helena Dalli were awarded €50,000 in direct orders while she was a Cabinet Member.

Documents tabled by Economy Minister Silvio Schembri following a parliamentary question by Ivan Castillo revealed that between 2017 and 2018, Luke Dalli and Jean Marc Dalli pocketed €35,456 and €17,385 in direct orders, respectively.

Luke Dalli was awarded three separate direct orders for the “provision of service related to communications supporting legal services and contributing in areas related to intellectual property”, while Jean Marc Dalli was handed one direct order for “assistance services in connection with the presidency of the European Union Council vis-a vis Ministry Policy and communication tasks.”

At the time, Helena Dalli was serving as the Minister for European Affairs and Equality, while the Economy Ministry was headed by disgraced former minister Chris Cardona. 

Questions will be asked about why a public call was never issued for a position that was awarded to two children of a Cabinet member with little to no concern.

The list of consultants awarded a direct order included former PL MP Joe Sammut, who pocketed just over €36,000 in three contracts between 2017 and 2020.

Luke Dalli, a former One TV presenter, also earned contracts elsewhere, at one point working as the legal officer at the Malta Arts Council, earning between €20,619 and €23,540 per annum (subject to any adjustments).

Luke Dalli’s then-girlfriend, Rachel Debono, had also found herself on the state payroll as a ‘person of trust’ in Minister Dalli’s secretariat.

What do you think of the direct orders?