DEAR Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly.

You have rightly said that people are angry at the proposed £14,000 annual pay rise for MLAs, but you offered only a partial explanation for that anger.

Public annoyance is not just based on income inequality between MLAs and other occupations such as nursing.

It stems significantly from the fact that MLAs are seen as being paid for achieving so little – indeed, some would argue that despite the salaries and generous expenses, Stormont has made life worse for many of us.

Cormac Moore: Is it time for Ireland’s football teams to join together?

Of course, none of this is the personal fault of either of you, but you are the heads of government here and that means the buck stops with both of you politically.

So in terms of governance, you are responsible for resolving our many difficulties including: pothole-ridden roads; five-year waiting lists for health care; the 110,000 children in poverty; the 29,000 homeless households on the social housing waiting list; the estimated 100 food banks and the thousands who rely on them; the A5; the crumbling school buildings; the pollution of Lough Neagh, and a host of other problems, which reflect the growing social and economic inequality in our society.

There is little evidence that you intend to sort out........

© The Irish News