Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) will receive a pay rise of £14,000, a 26.8% increase from their current salary of £53,000 to £67,200.
The Independent Remuneration Board held a two week consultation with MLAs, the Assembly Commission and the Assembly Members’ Pension Trustees. With the increase now approved, MLAs will see the increase from April 1st.
Also introduced are new financial sanctions for Assembly members if an Executive is not formed after the 2027 election. They will see a 10% reduction in their salaries after six weeks of no Executive, a further 10% after week 12, and finally after week 18, another 10% will be deducted – bringing their total salary to £48,988.90.
An Assembly vote last year introduced the independent board with support from the main parties at Stormont. It was criticised by the TUV and People Before Profit at the time.
“Under our legislative framework and in carrying out our responsibilities, 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. We also have to reflect on achieving value for money and the broader economic conditions of Northern Ireland. After full consideration of the responses received, the Board is confident that the evidence underpinning its draft determination remains sound.
“We also reflected on correspondence from the public which was overwhelmingly critical of the draft determination. 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. That is why we are also confirming our proposals in imposing financial sanctions if the institutions should cease to function in their normal way.
“Much of the commentary around our draft determination has been critical, saying that this is not the right time to be tackling this issue. It is clear that the system for considering MLA pay has not been working properly for 10 years, and any delay would only further exacerbate the situation.
“Having taking this corrective measure, we can now move forward to a situation where any changes to MLA pay levels are likely to be more in line with normal inflationary trends.”
– Alan Lowry, Chair of Independent Remuneration Board
The board looked at MLA pay in comparison to their counterparts in Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland, when making their determination last month.
Stormont politicians will still earn less than their counterparts in other devolved regions after this pay rise.
