Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive should take a 5 per cent pay cut to help save money, Martin McGuinness said today.
Highly paid civil servants should also see salaries reduced as part of the effort to save an extra £128 million, the Deputy First Minister added.
The British coalition government announced reduced spending plans at Westminster yesterday. The North’s share of more than £6 billion in cuts comes on top of an existing requirement to find nearly £400 million in savings.
Mr McGuinness said Stormont must be seen to take the lead in cutting unnecessary expense in government and cutting back on bureaucracy.”
The £128 million savings are part of an overall package of reduced spending announced by the Treasury.
Chancellor George Osborne has given the devolved regions the option of making the cuts now in this current financial year - or deferring them until the year after.
Mr McGuinness said Sinn Féin will be proposing a 5 per cent pay cut to all ministers at the Executive meeting on Thursday. He said the party would also seek a meeting with the head of the civil service Bruce Robinson to discuss the issue of the pay of the highest grades of the civil service.
“Given the levels of poverty which exist within our community and the reliance on frontline services I believe that this is an entirely reasonable and proper proposition,” he said.
The cuts in 2010-11 for devolved administrations will be £704 million across Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. First Minister Peter Robinson has said Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are working on a common approach to dealing with the cuts.