Irwin critical of MLA pay report

DUP Councillor William Irwin said the proposals made little sense.

Newry & Armagh DUP Assemblyman Cllr. William Irwin MLA, who operates two constituency advice centres in the area, has spoken out about the recent MLA pay report and said that the proposals made little sense at this time of economic hardship. An independent panel decided this week that assembly members pay should rise by almost £5,000 from April 2013. The 11% increase to £48,000 will be financed by a cut in office costs.

He stated, “The DUP fully supports an independent body setting salaries and allowances. MLAs should have no role in the setting of their terms and conditions. We are still considering this Report however, the proposition that MLAs should have a salary increase funded at the expense of their constituency service is totally unacceptable.”

Irwin added, “The DUP provides the largest number of advice centres and we want to maintain this vital front-line service. My main priority is to maintain my constituency services rather than benefiting myself, my two constituency offices are vital for constituents to get advice and raise important issues and this must be protected.”

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Posted by Newry Times News on Mar 18 2012. Filed under News, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry