Editorial: Stormont’s failings mean any huge pay rise for MLAs is unjustifiable

The case for increasing the pay of MLAs and therefore potentially attracting more talented people into politics may be a strong one, but as things stand giving Stormont politicians pay parity with other devolved parliaments could not be justified.

New legislation on how assembly members’ pay is set has put the issue back on the political agenda. ​​While MLAs get around £19,000 less than their counterparts in other parts of the UK, they have not earned a pay rise as they have struggled to rise to the challenges of some of the most pressing issues facing Northern Ireland.

There has also been a failure to carry out elementary scrutiny, as the recent farce in the Executive Office committee has shown, or to take any difficult decisions for the long term benefit of the public.

Disastrous health waiting lists caused by the refusal to reform the NHS are just one example. The system of government here means there is no incentive for any party to step out of line on issues such as public sector pay – and tough decisions like increasing taxes to fund public spending don’t have to be made.

Instead, MLAs blame London and ask for more money. Even modest revenue raising measures – or prioritising which public services to focus resources on – has proven beyond Stormont’s capabilities. Contrast that to Scotland, where MSPs have – rightly or wrongly – increased the tax burden to fund government policies.

Anyone who watches the Assembly will have seen politicians from all the main parties stumble as they read speeches off a sheet of paper, more often than not prepared for them by somebody else. Increasing MLA pay in line with Cardiff or Edinburgh may mean more MLAs who can speak without a script, but it won’t make any difference to the work – or lack of it – they do to govern NI responsibly.