THE STORMONT Assembly has backed a call to review its spending following last month’s budget cuts which could total between £4 billion and £5 billion over the next five years.
DUP leader Peter Robinson told members DUP Ministers would consider cutting their own salaries and he urged consideration of other measures to cut costs, which was supported.
Calling for an end to subsidised food in Stormont restaurants, Mr Robinson said he found it difficult to justify the perks given to those in Stormont while others found it increasingly difficult to meet their food bills.
“We should not be subsidising when people out there are having massive difficulties and in the months and years ahead will have even more difficulties in having sufficient money to pay their food bills,” he said, adding that the Assembly Commission, which runs Parliament Buildings, should “look at that issue”.
Turning to the numbers of staff employed at the Assembly, Mr Robinson said: “There do need to be steps taken to ensure that we don’t have some exponential rise in our Assembly staff. The staff should be there to do the job and no more.”
He was accused of hypocrisy by SDLP North Belfast member Alban Maginness who said it was “a bit rich” of Mr Robinson “to talk about removing the subsidy from the restaurants here when in fact when he was at Westminster he applied for and was given £400 a month for food.”
In a statement later, Mr Maginness went further, claiming Mr Robinson’s speech on a motion proposing cost reduction was in contrast to the DUP’s position on cutting the number of MPs and constituencies.
“We firmly believe the Assembly can be leaner in spending terms. However, it should have more muscle with regards to scrutiny and accountability,” he said.
“This motion also exposes a fundamental hypocrisy in the DUP’s position. In Westminster, the DUP are steadfastly opposed to any reduction in the numbers of MPs and constituencies. Yet here in the Assembly they are pretending to the champions of cost-effectiveness and efficiencies.”