It is understandable that the public should be increasingly cynical about the salaries paid to politicians who were elected to an Assembly which remains firmly suspended.
However, it is wrong to claim the MLAs are getting a wage without doing a job in return.
They are all engaged in daily constituency work, which will continue whether or not devolution returns.
In addition, the main parties have already been involved in informal talks with the British government and will be expecting to participate in a formal review of the Good Friday Agreement next month.
Further detailed discussions will be required if any consensus is to be reached on the restoration of the Assembly and the Executive.
The secretary of state, Paul Murphy, has ruled that MLAs should be given 70% of their normal salary, which works out at around £31,000 per annum, during this interim period.
Those who have suggested that no money should be handed over until the Assembly is up and running again should ask themselves what sort of politicians they really want to see at Stormont.
If they wish to be solely represented by extremists and eccentrics, then it should be quite possible to find 108 individuals who will shout at each other all day without requiring any financial support.
If people with at least a degree of ability and vision are to be involved, having given up their normal occupations, then it is only reasonable that they should be paid.
Of course, if the Assembly remains suspended indefinitely, the MLAs will need to be effectively placed on protective notice.
The European election, scheduled for June, could well be seen as a suitable cut-off point.
Until then, our politicians should set out to earn their money by displaying flexibility rather than intransigence.
