MLAs' £14,000 pay rise confirmed

A proposed pay rise of more than £14,000 for Stormont assembly members (MLAs) will go ahead, the panel that sets their salaries has said.

MLAs currently earn £53,000 a year, which is less than their counterparts in the UK's other devolved parliaments in Scotland and Wales.

The pay rise will increase their salaries to £67,200 a year from April this year.

The independent remuneration board announced the proposals last month and said it would seek views and feedback on its draft determination from MLAs, the Assembly Commission and the Assembly Members' Pension Trustees.

The board is responsible for determining the salaries and pensions of MLAs.

It has also confirmed the introduction of new financial sanctions which will apply if an executive is not formed after the next assembly election, or if at any point the offices of first and deputy first minister become vacant.

MLA salaries would be reduced by 10% after week six, a further 10% after week 12, and another 10% after week 18, should government formation not occur within the six-month statutory period.

The board was set up last year with support from the largest Stormont parties but faced criticism from the TUV and People Before Profit who said it would lead to MLAs receiving significant uplifts in their pay.

Alan Lowry, chairperson of the board, said: "The board is required to balance a number of issues - the importance and complexity of an MLA's role, the financial viability of a political career and the levels of pay for political representatives in peer parliaments."

He said the board is "confident" that the evidence underpinning the draft determination "remains sound".

Lowry said the board had "reflected" on the public's reaction to the draft announcement, which was "overwhelmingly critical".

"It is clear that the public have been frustrated by the 'stop-start' nature of government that has impacted the political institutions in recent years," he said.

"That is why we are also confirming our proposals in imposing financial sanctions if the institutions should cease to function in their normal way."

Members of the Scottish Parliament receive £74,507 while members of the Welsh Parliament earn £76,380.

At Westminster, MPs earn £93,904 a year while members of the Dáil (lower house of the Irish parliament) earn €118,284 (£103,416),

There is no good time to give a politician a 27% pay hike, least of all now.

Coming at a time when already hard-pressed families are struggling to pay their oil bills is not a good look.

But MLAs will say, just like the pay rise, the timing was beyond their control.

What was within their control was the parameters set for the independent board to decide on any pay rise.

They decided on benchmarking against what their political colleagues earn in other parts of the UK and Ireland.

That meant a significant rise was more likely than not given the large gap in salaries.

The public backlash has already started and is likely to be revisited every time there is a public sector pay dispute.

But for those on the inside, it was a nettle which needed to be grasped to ensure pay parity isn't just for teachers and nurses.