Revealed: The MLAs who booked Stormont's free car chargers the most - while also getting fuel expenses
The number of bookings made by each of the MLAs who availed of Stormont’s free car chargers – while also getting paid travel expenses – has been revealed.
It follows a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the independent Lisburn councillor Gary Hynds – who says ordinary workers don't expect taxpayers to subsidise their commute, and politicians shouldn’t be any different.
Assembly officials said MLAs Robbie Butler, Pam Cameron, Trevor Clarke and David Honeyford MLA had used the free EV charging points from 25 November 2025 to 3 June 2026.
The Assembly initially said it did not have such records, but later discovered them on a back system.
Top of the table was DUP MLA Pam Cameron. She made the most bookings among the politicians who used the free facility, with 58 slots on the Assembly’s system.
In second place was the Ulster Unionist MLA Robbie Butler – with 49 slots in the six month period. The Lagan Valley MLA had previously said he had “made occasional use of the charging facilities for partial charging”, but his “main vehicle charging is always done at home”.
Mr Butler also claimed that travel expenses are not a “direct repayment” of electricity costs.
Alliance MLA David Honeyford, his party’s consumer affairs spokesman, made 37 bookings to top up with free electricity.
Of the four whose use of the facility was on Assembly records, the DUP’s Trevor Clarke had 32 charging slots.
Officials noted that records of whether a booking was fulfilled “were not maintained consistently; while in some instances it was recorded that a charging card was collected, this was not done in all cases, and the Assembly Commission does not hold information on whether chargers were operational, utilised or the duration of any use”.
Cllr Hynds told the News Letter: “The FOI has confirmed that four MLAs used the free EV charging points at Stormont, including the two Lagan Valley MLAs.
“It also confirms they remained entitled to claim the full Assembly Travel Allowance despite there being no formal policy governing the scheme.
“The Assembly has now suspended the free charging arrangement and is introducing a paid model. That raises the obvious question of why the previous arrangement was ever considered acceptable.
“This wasn't about helping MLAs do their jobs better or delivering better outcomes for the people of Lisburn and Lagan Valley. It was a taxpayer-funded personal benefit with no clear direct benefit to the public.
“Public money should always be spent under clear rules, with proper accountability and transparency. People are fed up with politicians appearing to play by a different set of rules.
“Suspending the scheme doesn't answer the questions about how it operated previously. The public deserve a full explanation.
“Most people pay to get to work every day. They certainly don't expect taxpayers to subsidise their commute. Politicians shouldn't be any different."
The MLAs were operating within the rules, but have offered to pay any money they may owe back.