| Member of the Legislative Assembly | |
|---|---|
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| Northern Ireland Assembly | |
| Style | Member |
| Abbreviation | MLA |
| Member of | Northern Ireland Assembly |
| Reports to | |
| Seat | Parliament Buildings |
| Appointer | Electorate of Northern Ireland |
| Term length | No more than 5 years; renewable |
| Constituting instrument | Northern Ireland Act 1998 |
| Formation | 1 July 1998 (27 years ago) (1998-07-01) |
| First holder | 1st Assembly |
| Salary | £53,000 per year[1] plus expenses |
| Website | www |
| This article is part ofa series within the Politics of the United Kingdom on the |
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Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland |
Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs;Irish:Comhaltaí den Tionól Reachtach;Ulster Scots:Laa-Makkan Forgaitherars) are representatives elected by the voters to theNorthern Ireland Assembly.
The Northern Ireland Assembly has 90 elected members – five from each of18 constituencies, the boundaries of which are the same as those used for electing members of theUK Parliament. Its role is primarily to scrutinise and make decisions on the issues dealt with by Government Departments and to consider and make legislation.[2]
MLAs are responsible for representing their constituents in theNorthern Ireland Assembly, and may also hold a number ofexecutive roles within theNorthern Ireland Executive.
MLAs are also responsible for proposing, debating, and voting on law in policy areas devolved to the Assembly.
MLAs may also be present on committees relating to specific policy areas, intended to serve a scrutiny function, and to examine bills within that subject area as part of the process of the bill becoming a law.[3]
The basic salary for an MLA is £55,000, while theSpeaker,ministers and committee chairs receive an additional 'Office Holders Salary' on top of their basic salary.[4]
From 22 June 1921 until 30 March 1972 MPs of theHouse of Commons of Northern Ireland and Senators of theSenate of Northern Ireland in theParliament of Northern Ireland legislated for Northern Ireland like MLAs do today.
Following areferendum on the Belfast Agreement on 23 May 1998 and the granting ofRoyal Assent to theNorthern Ireland Act 1998 on 19 November 1998; aNorthern Ireland Assembly andNorthern Ireland Executive were established by theLabour government ofPrime MinisterTony Blair. The process was known asdevolution and was set up to give Northern Ireland devolved legislative powers. MLAs are responsible for the Northern Ireland Assembly.
TheAssembly Members (Reduction of Numbers) Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 resulted in the number of MLAs being reduced from 108 to 90. This change was first implemented in thesnap Assembly election in March 2017.[5]
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