The running cost of the Northern Assembly since it was set up last June is £10.7 million, according to the Northern Ireland Office.
The sum is made up of £5.4 million for members' salaries, members' allowances and the allowances for each of the political parties. A further £4.9 million has been spent on administration, including a large number of civil servants.
Capital costs - money spent on computer, sound and video equipment - amount to £415,000. The reason why this is a relatively small sum is that the Department of the Environment had previously bought the bulk of the equipment now used by Assembly members and administration staff.
Elected members of the Assembly have met on just 16 days since they were elected in June. This means each meeting of the Assembly has cost £660,000. This increases to £880,000 per meeting if one considers that four of the 16 sittings went on over two days, reducing the number of Assembly sessions to 12.
There appears to be little prospect of a further sitting before the Assembly's first anniversary on July 1st. The £660,000-per-session average does not take into account committee meetings and the ongoing inter-party talks.
The total also includes three committees - the Shadow Assembly Commission, the standing orders committee and the committee which advises the initial presiding officer, Lord Alderdice. These committees meet regularly. There are also two ad-hoc groups - the committee on the procedural consequences of devolution and the committee on ports - which are meeting on an almost weekly basis. The £10.7 million running costs do not include the costs of the refurbishment of the Stormont debating chamber, party rooms and media facilities in preparation for the Assembly.
Three weeks ago, the British government overruled a review of politicians' pay and decided to raise the salary of the North's Deputy First Minister to the same level as that of the First Minister "in view of the unique political situation in Northern Ireland and the joint responsibility which the Deputy First Minister is expected to exercise."
Mr Seamus Mallon's salary rose from £47,504 to £62,556.
The basic annual salary for members of the Northern Ireland Assembly has been set at £37,000.
In February, the Shadow Assembly Commission published a report outlining that a minimum of £36.8 million would be necessary to provide the Assembly with the "property, staff and resources needed to conduct business properly".
The amount represented an increase of £23 million on the initial estimate compiled last summer. The cost of running the 10 government departments, estimated at £90 million, was not included in the amount.
The report identified other areas of expenditure such as the running costs of the First and Deputy First Ministers' central offices, the funding of the civic forum and the setting up of childcare and leisure facilities at Stormont for Assembly members and staff.
The Northern Ireland Office would not comment on the figures yesterday. A spokesman said it was up to Assembly members to justify the expenditure.
The presiding officer, Lord Alderdice, was also unavailable for comment.