SO the body which oversees the pay of our politicians has approved a whopping 27% increase in the salary of MLAs. Unsurprisingly, the public – Joe and Jane – are not feeling the love.

With a dysfunctional Executive and a below-par performance by the Assembly, this pay rise does not pass the smell test.

Politicians should have enough nous to know this themselves.

It matters little to the electorate whether their representatives are the poor relations of their counterparts in Scotland or Wales. Politics is supposed to be about improving people’s lives – that simply is not happening.

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Public services in Northern Ireland are hanging on by a thread.

To meet pay demands which are relatively modest from teachers and those in healthcare, both the Departments of Health and Education are borrowing ahead to fund the single-digit pay increases. This borrowing on tick is not sustainable.

This current Assembly has not fulfilled the mandate it was granted at the last election.

It not only has a poor legislative record but its scrutiny role is pretty scant, and that’s before one is reminded that members got paid whilst the Assembly collapsed.

Most people who deliberately don’t show up for work don’t get paid.

In fairness, not all political parties were responsible for the collapse.

It is hard to know just what the members of the pay review body were thinking.

MLAs, on balance, probably do deserve better pay. There certainly should be a standardised rate across all three devolved regions.

There are 90 MLAs, but over a third of the Assembly membership receive higher than the basic wage stated by the pay review body.

This occurs because the 16 committee chairs, the speaker, the three deputy speakers, the 10 executive members, plus two junior ministers, and the leader of the opposition get additional funding to reflect the extra work.

When one looks at the expenses, including staff and offices etc, most MLAs are claiming between £90k to £100k, though for some the figures are considerably less or more.

As was revealed by The Irish News a few months ago, the Assembly paid out £650k to members for travel over three years, but does not actually verify whether those MLAs attended Stormont.

MLAs should get a pay rise this year and until the end of the mandate next year, but until then that increase should be in line with public sector pay increases.

After those elections in 2027, the revised salary recommendations should apply but with the proviso that if any party collapses the Assembly, the salaries of those in that party will immediately stop.

There is little point penalising all members because of the belligerence and political self-interest of those who pull down the institutions.

Actions should have consequences – as should inactions too.

The legislative output of the NI Assembly is abysmal. Much of what is passed is simply parity legislation – pretty much a cut and paste from Westminster.

If one were judging the Assembly by KPIs or measuring the output, it would be facing the chop.

Some ministers are equally poor performers, but are so imperious they can’t even bother to face the scrutiny of opposition days.

It seems as though being chauffeured out and about in an official car has made them believe they are monarchical rather than ministerial.

Recently, the justice minister referred to the opposition as “white noise”. And yet, as Disraeli said, “No government can be secure for long without a formidable opposition”.

To prove the point, look at the abysmal opposition of Kemi Badenoch and the Tories at Westminster, or the catastrophic absence of a strong opposition in the USA and Israel and its impact on a functioning democracy.

There are those who subscribe to the notion that if one pays the political classes more money, it will lead to a better calibre of politician. This columnist remains unconvinced.

America is full of well-paid legislators, and it has not led to better government.

The counterargument is that the wealthier the political classes are, the more removed they are from the lives of ordinary people.

Certainly, those working classes in the UK cheering on Reform are mesmerised and enthralled to spivs and chancers who will monetise their political positions, like Trump and co, from the very corridors of power.

The vast majority of those in Stormont work hard and are earnest in serving their communities. People are not exactly queuing up to take their jobs.

Politicians live in the public eye and are mostly not motivated by money (Though there are always one or two notable exceptions).

As the saying goes, you get the government you deserve.

At the moment, one can almost feel the raging public apathy at the disconnect between the governed and those governing.

Even the grand setting of Stormont, lording it over the Belfast landscape, seems to reflect the sense of its inmates looking down on those beneath its elaborate Greco-classical facade.

No wonder some think they are entitled to a 27% pay rise in one swoop.

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