Latest news with #TrevorClarke
Western Telegraph
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Western Telegraph
Sinn Fein urged to reflect on role played by Provisional IRA during Troubles
It came during a meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board on Thursday which focused on issues faced by police in their role dealing with legacy. Chief Constable Jon Boutcher outlined his concerns around the costs in terms of financial and staffing resources, but also reputational damage because they had not been funded sufficiently to deal with legacy. Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Jon Boutcher was speaking during a Northern Ireland Policing Board meeting (Liam McBurney/PA) He urged more resources as well as a focus on victims, and that an approach to dealing with the past be agreed. Dealing with the past was not included in the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, and subsequent deals, including the Stormont House accord in 2014, were not progressed. Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly responded to Mr Boutcher, hailing what he said seemed to be a 'new philosophy of approach' and potentially a 'watershed moment'. 'I have sat in front of many chief constables and you're the first chief constable who has said we need to change this in a radical way,' he said. It seems ironic listening to Gerry (Kelly) speak at the minute that there is no reflection on what part Sinn Fein and the IRA played during the Troubles DUP MLA Trevor Clarke Mr Kelly also said that while 'nothing is perfect', the Stormont House Agreement saw most of the parties and the British and Irish governments in agreement. He blamed the UK for 'pulling out' of that agreement. But DUP MLA Trevor Clarke said many in the unionist community felt 'they were let down particularly by Sinn Fein and others', and in reference to the party's historic relationship with the Provisional IRA, said they were 'the biggest cause of victims in Northern Ireland'. DUP MLA Trevor Clarke said many in the unionist community felt 'they were let down particularly by Sinn Fein' (Liam McBurney/PA) 'It seems ironic listening to Gerry speak at the minute that there is no reflection on what part Sinn Fein and the IRA played during the Troubles,' he said. 'I know it's not Stormont, it's not a political debating chamber but I think it has to be said that if everyone is to be honest and everyone wants to be honest, then everyone should be honest and should all come to the table honest in terms of the parts that they played during the Troubles, as opposed to working on the small numbers that the security forces were involved in. 'I certainly want to put on record our party's concerns around the process, sympathies with police in how they deal with it, but there is a section of the community will never be satisfied unless the victim makers stand in the courts and actually own up to their part as well.'
The Independent
17-02-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Bill to establish independent board for MLA pay moves a step closer
A Bill to establish a new independent board to determine salaries for Northern Ireland Assembly members has moved a step closer to becoming law. However, some expressed concern over whether the Bill was to lead to a £20,000 pay increase for MLAs. The Assembly Members (Remuneration Board) Bill was introduced in the Assembly earlier this month by the Assembly Commission. It proposes the establishment of an independent Remuneration Board to determine MLA salaries and pensions, to follow the previous Independent Financial Review Panel. The membership of the board can include no more than one former MLA. Currently, the basic salary for an MLA is £51,500, but this can rise with position including chairing some committees or serving as a minister, with the First and deputy First Ministers receiving a salary of £123,500. A report alongside the Bill showed MLA salaries are lower than those received by Members of the Scottish Parliament (£72,196), Assembly Members at the Welsh Assembly (£72,057) and members of the Irish Parliament (E113,679/£94,537). The Bill passed its second stage on Monday, with the support of the largest parties. People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll and TUV MLA Timothy Gaston did not back it. Speaking during the preceding debate, DUP MLA and Assembly Commission member Trevor Clarke emphasised to MLAs that they were voting on the setting up of the board, and not on their pay levels. I want to state for the record that at no point has the Assembly Commission discussed, let alone taken a view on, what the salary of a Member should be Trevor Clarke 'The house is today debating a largely technical Bill dealing with the process of how members' salaries and pensions are determined,' he said. 'What we are not debating today or deciding in this Bill is the outcome of what level of members' salaries and pensions will be. 'If this Bill is passed, it will only be the independent remuneration board that will decide that. 'The word independent is key, (neither) the Assembly Commission, nor members of this Assembly will be involved in the decisions on what the levels of member salaries will be.' He added: 'I want to state for the record that at no point has the Assembly Commission discussed, let alone taken a view on, what the salary of a Member should be'. Mr Gaston described the process the Bill has gone through to date as 'most irregular', claiming there was not adequate consultation. He also claimed it is the 'intention' of the larger parties, including Sinn Fein, the DUP, UUP, Alliance and the SDLP to 'award themselves a massive pay rise'. Mr Carroll said he stands by his contention that the Bill is 'laying the groundwork for a potential £20,000 pay increase for MLAs'. 'It's absolutely laughable that Members today continue to feign ignorance about where this is headed,' he said. 'I hope that when this remuneration board is established it decides no pay increase is warranted. 'In fact I hope they take into account the performance of this and previous Executives since the last pay body disbanded in 2016 as well as the sorry state of our public services, widespread poverty and destitution and say that maybe an MLA pay cut is the way to go, maybe go for an average wage of the constituents that they represent, but I don't think this will happen.'
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New plans for MLA pay introduced at Stormont
New plans to set pay levels for Stormont MLAs have been introduced in the assembly. For five years, the Independent Financial Review Panel (IFRP) set wages and expenses for politicians in the assembly. But the terms of the three members ended in 2016 and they were never replaced. The Assembly Members (Remuneration Board) Bill proposes setting up a new independent board. It is backed by the Assembly Commission, which includes representatives of the main parties. Unlike the IFRP, the new panel will only have the sole remit of setting pay and pension entitlements for MLAs. Like the IFRP, it will also be asked to take into account the salaries of MPs, TDs and Senators in the Oireachtas, Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and the Welsh Assembly. Members of the Welsh Assembly currently take home a salary of £72,057, while MSPs in Scotland take home £72,196 while MLAs at Stormont get a salary of £52,500. TUV MLA Timothy Gaston said he believed it was "highly likely" the new board would increase MLAs salaries, given the difference with their counterparts in other parts of the UK and Ireland. "I do not believe that MLAs should receive a pay rise of one penny, never mind £19,000," he said. "I urge any independent body reviewing MLA pay to link it to our performance in the house; to consider the fact that we are members of a legislative Assembly that seldom legislates; to consider that MLAs sit on scrutiny committees that do not scrutinise," he added. Trevor Clarke, the DUP representative on the assembly commission, rejected claims that a pay rise for members was inevitable as a result of setting up of the new body. "There is a danger that we are calling into question the independence of an independent panel," Mr Clarke said. "Members have not decided anything. Indeed, members agree with many of the points made about why we should not set our salaries. That was agreed many years ago, hence the need for an independent panel to set them." MLAs last got a pay rise of £500 in their salary last April, in line with rules set by the IFRP before it ceased nine years ago. Once the new bill is passed, the power to determine allowances payable to MLAs, which relates to travel and office expenses, will sit with the Assembly Commission. MLAs previously took issue with some of the rules the IFRP imposed, including limits on salaries for constituency office staff and other matters such as office signage. A spokesperson for the commission said the new panel will have independent membership and "take independent decisions on the appropriate level for the salaries and pensions" of MLAs. They added that the assembly had previously agreed to change the system in 2020, which set out that salaries and pensions of MLAs should continue to be determined independently. They said that after that decision, the changes were delayed due to the Covid pandemic and the suspension of power-sharing. "However, in introducing this new Bill today, the Assembly Commission has taken the first step towards ensuring that the statute book reflects the position previously agreed by the Assembly. "It will provide for the independent oversight in relation to members' salaries and pensions to continue."
