Stormont needs to examine whether it is right in inquiries to pay lawyers far more than other public servants

The Cash for Ash for Cash scandal related to a scheme that was intended to help the environment but ended up harming it — by giving people a financial motive to heat empty sheds.

The inquiry panel and the legal team could be seen in the televised hearings to be sharp and professional.

But it was always essential that an inquiry into such waste was transparent in its own use of public funds.

That the government has released not only the identifiable costs of the inquiry (some can’t be quantified) but detailed the allocation of funds is not only welcome, but a template for coming inquiries into Muckamore and legacy.

It is troubling however that payments to lawyers have been so high. One junior barrister earned £780,000 for work on an inquiry that lasted around three years.

The hourly rate for junior barristers, let alone QCs, is, on a 7.5 hour day basis, higher than for judges and inquiry chairs. It is many times the pay of an MLA. It is far higher than the pay of NI’s first minister or UK prime minister.

Or consider a consultant physician, the highest grade of specialist doctor, who earns £79,860 on appointment, falling to £69,000 after pension contributions. NI is saying a junior barrister in a probe is worth many times more.

Stormont MLAs often demand inquiries, so why do they not ask if taxpayers should pay vast sums to lawyers, far above the salary of other public servants, in these probes?

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