Government continues to ignore Opposition’s request for scrutiny over eID system collapse

The Government continues to ignore the request submitted by the Opposition more than two weeks ago for Parliament’s Standing Committee on Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence Affairs to convene urgently over the serious disruption to the Government’s digital systems on 14 July.

The incident occurred when a large number of students logged in to check their MATSEC results. However, the collapse of the eID platform also affected access to several essential public services, including MyHealth, eCourts, eApps, MyTax, the Malta Business Registry system and the Planning Authority website.

On 15 July, the Opposition representatives on the Committee wrote to its Chairperson, Labour MP Ray Abela, requesting a formal meeting to establish the facts and identify the measures needed to prevent a similar incident from happening again. To date, however, the Committee has still not met.

Two weeks later, the Opposition received only a note referring to the statement issued by MITA on the day of the incident. Opposition members pointed out that their request went far beyond that statement and formally renewed their call for the Committee to meet. This is particularly relevant in light of the Education Minister’s statement in Parliament that the problem originated with MITA and not MATSEC. However, regrettably, even when the agenda was circulated for a Committee meeting convened by the Chairperson for after the summer recess, this matter was not included.

The incident affected not only students at an important and stressful moment, but also patients and doctors, lawyers, architects, businesses and professionals who were unable to access the services they required.

The Partit Nazzjonalista is calling for the following to be established:

• what caused the disruption and how long it lasted;
• which services and individuals were affected;
• what measures were taken to address it;
• whether there were any risks to the security, integrity or availability of data;
• and what action will be taken to prevent a similar incident from recurring.

The Opposition has therefore requested that representatives of MITA, the responsible ministries and entities, as well as the affected public services, appear before the Committee to provide a full technical and administrative account.

Nevertheless, the Government continues to drag its feet and keep the doors closed to parliamentary scrutiny.

The Partit Nazzjonalista believes that digital transformation cannot be credible unless the systems on which citizens, businesses and professionals depend are secure, reliable and capable of handling demand. The Government must shoulder responsibility and provide the public with the answers it has a right to receive.

Michael Piccinino
PN MP and Member of the Standing Committee on Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence Affairs

George Vital Zammit
PN MP and Member of the Standing Committee on Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence Affairs

31.07.2026