New details unearthed on efforts to get £160,000pa Invest NI Chief more money
03 June 2011
“When I first highlighted that, on her last day in office in the old Executive, Arlene Foster approved a £36,000 bonus for Alistair Hamilton, it was my belief that this was the fallback position from an attempt to increase his £160,000 salary package on a permanent basis.
“A written answer from the DFP Minister today confirms that Arlene Foster had indeed tried and failed to get a pay freeze-busting increase for the former DUP Special Advisor, Mr Hamilton. Happily, the Finance Minister turned her down, but the fact such an audacious attempt was made speaks ill of DETI’s sense of responsibility in these austere times when low paid workers face not just pay freezes but job losses.
“Unwilling to let the matter rest Mrs Foster, then, on her last day in office approved the whopping bonus as a consolation prize for Mr Hamilton. Such fiscal irresponsibility does neither the Board of Invest NI or DETI any credit.”
Question & Answer:
Question to DFP Minister:-
To ask the Minister of Finance and Personnel (i) whether a business case was presented to his Department in relation to a proposed pay increase or bonus for the CEO of Invest NI; (ii) when this business case was presented; (iii) who presented the case; and (iv) what was the outcome of the case.
Answer:-
I received a case on the 14th April 2011 relating to a proposal to remove the bonus component and to restructure the remuneration package of the Invest NI Chief Executive. The submission was sent by the DETI Permanent Secretary and had been cleared by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment.
I responded by advising the DETI Minister that, given the current economic climate and the Executive’s current policy on bonuses and public sector pay, I was unable to agree with the proposal.
