NORTHERN IRELAND
The United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has announced that members of the province’s Legislative Assembly will have their pay cut by more than £13,000 ($A23,600).
At the same time, the Secretary, Karen Bradley (pictured), said she was bringing forward legislation to allow Northern Ireland’s Public Servants to make decisions in the absence of a functioning Executive.
Ruling out calling another Assembly election, Mrs Bradley said MLA’s salaries would be cut by more than £7,000 ($A12,700) from November and a further reduction of more than £6,000 ($A11,000) from February if parties cannot reach an agreement to form a Provincial Government.
The initial reduction will see MLA’s salaries fall from £49,500 ($A90,000) to £35,888 ($A62,200).
“The reduction will take effect in two stages, commencing in November — it would not reduce the allowance for staff as I do not think that MLAs’ staff should suffer because of the politicians’ failure to form an Executive,” Mrs Bradley told the House of Commons.
“I recognise that there is a need to provide reassurance and clarity to both the Northern Ireland Civil Service and the people of Northern Ireland on the mechanisms for the continued delivery of public services.”
To address this she said she would introduce legislation “to enable Northern Ireland Departments to continue to take decisions in Northern Ireland in the public interest and to ensure the continued delivery of public services”.
The decision-making power of the Public Servants was called into question by a Court of Appeal ruling in July which said they did not have the power to make key decisions without the approval of a Minister.
Mrs Bradley said she was also planning to introduce legislation to remove the obligation to call an Assembly election.
“I have not believed, and do not now believe, that holding an election during this time of significant change and political uncertainty would be helpful or would increase the prospects of restoring the Executive,” she said.
The devolved administration has not sat since February last year in a row over identity issues like the place of the Irish language.
Repeated rounds of negotiations, led by the British and Irish Governments, have been unable to secure the restoration of the former coalition between Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionists.
Belfast, 7 September, 2018
