Slimming Down Stormont?
I talked to Nigel Dodds today after the Executive mulled over the details of yesterday's budget. He took the view that the budget could have been "much worse" for Northern Ireland, with the £122 million in expected savings next year offset to some extent by increased provision of £116 million over the next couple of years.
Challenged over where savings might be found, Mr Dodds pointed to the layers of bureaucracy at Stormont. He reckons £40 to £50 million a year could be saved by halving the number of departments. Over the Easter period Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness accelerated the review into the numbers of MLAs and departments.
My colleague Martina Purdy has a report going out on BBC Newsline tonight examining the implications of root and branch reform.
So far as MLAs are concerned, the current crop of 108 cost around £12 million a year in wages and allowances. If you had just 4 MLAs per constituency that would bring the number down to 72, yielding a potential £4 million saving every year.
Of course any change would have political as well as financial implications. If voters in the last Assembly election had been choosing a 72 strong Assembly, the Alliance Party's Executive Director Gerry Lynch reckons it would have looked like this:
DUP 26 (-10)
SF 20 (-8)
UUP 11 (-7)
SDLP 9 (-7)
All 6 (-1)
Ind 0 (-1)
PUP 0 (-1)
Green 0 (-1)
Such a line up would obviously increase the bias towards the big two, and if the Executive had just six departments Mr Lynch thinks the SDLP mjight miss out on a ministerial seat altogether.
I'm 
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~05~RS~)
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Mark,
I blogged here back on the 13th October 2008 about cutting the number of MLA's and it seems the DUP have finally caught on. I thought 6 months ago and I still do that the number off MLA's should be reduced from 108 to 72. I also believe that only people who top the vote on the 1st count should be given a ministerial job. Under this suggestion the Assembly would be
1st preference
Alliance 1
DUP 13
Sinn Fein 13
SDLP 2
UUP NIL
Total for Parties
Alliance 6
DUP 22
Sinn Fein 27
SDLP 8
UUP 9
Under this scheme there would be a Sinn Fein First Minister, DUP Deputy First Minister, 4 Sinn Fein Executive members, 4 DUP, 1 for Alliance and 1 for SDLP. The total MLA's for all parties clearly show Sinn Fein out in front. I think SDLP will lose seats to Sinn Fein and UUP to the DUP. What this also suggests is that Michael McGimpsey will not even get to the Assembly and Margaret Ritchie and Catriona Ruane will get to the Assembly but not the Executive.
Question is will Shaun Woodward or the DUP cut the number of MLA's? No. Will the DUP serve as Deputy First Minister? No? Will the UUP be happy they are not at the executive? No. I think that this shows how divided Northern Ireland Politics is.
If the Government wants to save money cut down on the number of back office staff, the number of family members working for MLA's and MP's and cut out completely free hospitality.
Stormontspy
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re: the entry above by Stormontspy. The DUP have been proposing a reduction in Departments and MLAs for some considerable time and long before his/her post.
Also the idea that only those who top the poll should be given a Ministerial post is patently ridiculous as that would completely stifle any new talent that a party wishes to promote. Furthermore, perhaps (s)he would like to tell us which Alliance Party MLA topped the poll on the first count and in which constituency: Naomi Long was some 52 votes behind Peter Robinson in East Belfast (and that was in competition with 2 of his party colleagues). I'd like to point out that there are not 29 constituencies. His/her proposal would do nothing to tackle the issue of double-jobbing given that it will be the MPs, as they are better known, who will almost inevitably top any poll.
I'm also interested to note that Stormontspy believes that MLAs and MPs should be hamstrung in being able to do their jobs by not being allowed to have staff. Not particularly good for being able to govern the country.
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Mark,
I like the new format on here.
I am well aware that the DUP have proposed this for some time. So have I. So do you want to criticise me or the DUP???
I think that only people who get elected on the 1st count should be given a ministers job. Only the most able should do the job. That would give Naomi Long a chance at taking a top post. If you had have read further you would have seen the amount of people who were elected on the first count for each party totals 29. Where you got the idea that there is 29 constituencies rank up with some of the craziest things I have heard!!
Double jobbing can be stop only by legislation.
In order to bring confidence into the system then MPs and MLAs should not employ family members as it gives politics a bad name.
Stormontspy
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Mark:
Slimming Down Stormont? Yes, I hope that Slimming down Stormont; Will help...But there are some underlining problems that would be required before it happens....
~Dennis Junior~
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the obesity timebomb that is the Stormont bandwagon should be causing deep concern perhaps the Min for health should sort it out as he is worried about the obesity timebomb then again perhaps not
Fcts and figs from Pfg docs
To run Ofm Dfm £45 million a year
To run the gravy train (sorry Assembly ) £145 million a year
oh Dear oh Dear
It will be interesting to see how long and how much money is spent trying to reduce this bloated elected quango Perhaps a few teams off advisers a few years off public consultation not forgetting the payment off the advisers and consultancy groups and then decide as they did with the Maze Long Kesh stadium not to do anytrhing
Oh Happy days
Scundered you soon will be and then they ask why so few vote
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We here all about reducing the numbers of MLA,s but what is the total number of jobs lost when you take in all the support staff and civil servants.It seems to me that the DUP and Sinn Fein are more interested in maintaining their position of power for themselves bordering on Stormont gerrymandering!!!
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