Each prisoner at the Corradino Correctional Facility costs the state €90 per day, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri has revealed.

In a series of parliamentary questions from PN MP Hermann Schiavone, Camillieri revealed how inmates are also able to earn a wage while serving time.

Currently, there are around 272 prisoners who work in the facility made up of over 600 inmates. Around 235 of them do cleaning work within the prison, while 37 undertake various tasks which include kitchen work, maintenance, and simple labour work.

The prison sets aside €10,000 per month to fund the inmates’ work.

Some prisoners also work for private industry from within the facility’s walls, with around 22 people working for private companies.

It is unclear whether any of the works still form part of a controversial Playmobil and Heritage Homes scheme within CCF, that sees prisoners get paid well below minimum wage.

In the parliamentary question, Camilleri insisted that the work being done within the private sector was to further inmates opportunities to work beyond the prison walls.

The prison has undergone somewhat of a reform over the past two years, with CCF Director Colonel Alexander Dalli imposing a strict level of discipline, even going as far to claim that he had eradicated drugs in prison. Dalli has even denied conjugal visits to inmates, while the introduction of scanners has helped deal with the drug issue.

However, there is a glaring issue that is yet to be addressed. There have been six deaths in under a year and a half, and other suicide attempts within the facility. MP Jason Azzopardi even described CCF as a mortuary.