During a recent interview on NET TV’s Perspettiva, Bartolo noted that homeless people are left short of options when police officers do their job and stop them from sleeping on the streets. 

“If these people keep finding closed doors, they will run around like nomads to find a roof to sleep under,” he said. “I won’t give a number on how many squatters there are around Malta because that is the job of the authorities, but the numbers I know of are alarming.”

Only this week, a group of squatters was evicted from five social housing apartments in Ħamrun, with Housing Minister Roderick Galdes decrying the case as an example of public assets being abused.

PN MP Charles Azzopardi, who was also a guest on the show, accused the government of not doing enough to help people cope through the ongoing cost of living crisis. 

“People who were at risk of poverty last year are now in poverty and the only reason we don’t see homeless people on the streets is that their families are helping them out,” he said.

“How can a couple with two children live on €1,500 euro a month when the cost of living on everything, including the most basic items and services, has shot up so disproportionately? It’s useless talking about statistics because people can tell that they are suffering.”

Cover photo: Left: PN MP Ivan Bartolo, Right: A recent operation to remove squatters from social housing units in Ħamrun (Photo: TVM)