The Labour Party has appointed Rosianne Cutajar as the new president of Parliament’s health committee, only two months after she was reprimanded by the House for an ethics breach involving murder suspect Yorgen Fenech.

Health Minister Chris Fearne moved a motion for Cutajar’s appointment to the role after the committee’s previous president Silvio Grixti resigned from Parliament following a police investigation into irregular medical certificates. 

The Opposition didn’t object to the motion.

Cutajar’s appointment to the role comes two months after she was reprimanded by Parliament for breaching ethics following an investigation by Standards Commissioner George Hyzler into her brokerage of a Mdina property deal involving Daphne Caruana Galizia murder suspect Yorgen Fenech.

Cutajar has confirmed that Fenech gave her €9,000 as a “birthday present” but insisted she was unaware she had to declare it in her assets.

Speaker Anglu Farrugia chose to “reprimand” Cutajar by informing her that the standards committee had adopted Hyzler’s report. 

Farrugia’s refusal to take tougher action was heavily criticised by the Nationalist Party, with Opposition Leader Bernard Grech mulling a boycott of Parliament.

Former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi even encouraged people to participate in a protest which called for the resignations of Farrugia and Cutajar.