New plans for MLA pay introduced at Stormont

New plans to set pay levels for Stormont MLAs have been introduced in the assembly.

For five years, the Independent Financial Review Panel (IFRP) set wages and expenses for politicians in the assembly.

But the terms of the three members ended in 2016 and they were never replaced.

The Assembly Members (Remuneration Board) Bill proposes setting up a new independent board.

It is backed by the Assembly Commission, which includes representatives of the main parties.

Unlike the IFRP, the new panel will only have the sole remit of setting pay and pension entitlements for MLAs.

Like the IFRP, it will also be asked to take into account the salaries of MPs, TDs and Senators in the Oireachtas, Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and the Welsh Assembly.

Members of the Welsh Assembly currently take home a salary of £72,057, while MSPs in Scotland take home £72,196 while MLAs at Stormont get a salary of £52,500.

TUV MLA Timothy Gaston said he believed it was "highly likely" the new board would increase MLAs salaries, given the difference with their counterparts in other parts of the UK and Ireland.

"I do not believe that MLAs should receive a pay rise of one penny, never mind £19,000," he said.

"I urge any independent body reviewing MLA pay to link it to our performance in the house; to consider the fact that we are members of a legislative Assembly that seldom legislates; to consider that MLAs sit on scrutiny committees that do not scrutinise," he added.

Trevor Clarke, the DUP representative on the assembly commission, rejected claims that a pay rise for members was inevitable as a result of setting up of the new body.

"There is a danger that we are calling into question the independence of an independent panel," Mr Clarke said.

"Members have not decided anything. Indeed, members agree with many of the points made about why we should not set our salaries. That was agreed many years ago, hence the need for an independent panel to set them."

MLAs last got a pay rise of £500 in their salary last April, in line with rules set by the IFRP before it ceased nine years ago.

Once the new bill is passed, the power to determine allowances payable to MLAs, which relates to travel and office expenses, will sit with the Assembly Commission.

MLAs previously took issue with some of the rules the IFRP imposed, including limits on salaries for constituency office staff and other matters such as office signage.

A spokesperson for the commission said the new panel will have independent membership and "take independent decisions on the appropriate level for the salaries and pensions" of MLAs.

They added that the assembly had previously agreed to change the system in 2020, which set out that salaries and pensions of MLAs should continue to be determined independently.

They said that after that decision, the changes were delayed due to the Covid pandemic and the suspension of power-sharing.

"However, in introducing this new Bill today, the Assembly Commission has taken the first step towards ensuring that the statute book reflects the position previously agreed by the Assembly.

"It will provide for the independent oversight in relation to members' salaries and pensions to continue."