Ulster assembly members see pay cut as deadlock continues
STORMONT ASSEMBLY members’ pay will be reduced by more than £13,000 as they are not performing all their functions, Secretary of State Karen Bradley said.
Northern Ireland’s devolved legislature in Belfast has not sat since early last year in a row over identity issues such as the Irish language, which has prevented the appointment of Ministers.
Repeated negotiations have failed to persuade former coalition partners the Democratic Unionists and Sinn Fein to reconcile their differences.
Mrs Bradley has also decided not to call new Stormont elections and will bring forward legislation to allow civil servants to make decisions in the absence of Ministers as public reforms have stalled.
She is to hold talks with the local political parties in the next few weeks about re-establishing formal powersharing negotiations and has not ruled out appointing an external mediator to help break the deadlock.
She told Parliament: “While Assembly members continue to perform valuable constituency functions, it is clear that during any such interim period they will not be performing the full range of their legislative functions.
“So, in parallel, I will take the steps necessary to reduce Assembly members’ salaries in line with the recommendations made by Trevor Reaney.
“The reduction will take effect in two stages, commencing in November – it would not reduce the allowance for staff as I do not think that MLAs’ [Members of the Legislative Assembly] staff should suffer because of the politicians’ failure to form an Executive.”
Mrs Bradley’s predecessor, James Brokenshire, commissioned former Assembly chief executive Mr Reaney to examine the controversial issue of paying Assembly members.
He recommended the 27.5 per cent cut, a move that would take the standard salary rate of £49,500 down to £35,888 in two stages, beginning in November, with a further cut three months later. Public services have suffered because no ministers are in place to make major decisions.
Controversial issues like provision of abortion or same-sex marriage have not been addressed in the absence of an Assembly.
The pay cut was welcomed by all sides in the ongoing stale mate in the Stormont Assembly. Sinn Fein deputy leader Michelle O’Neill said: “The reduction in MLA pay should have been introduced months ago.”
The reduction in pay should have been introduced months ago. Sinn Fein deputy leader Michelle O’Neill