Ross Michael Hussey was born in Omagh on 25 February 1959. He is the son of the late Sydney Robert Hussey SRN RMN and the late Rachel Hussey. He is the younger brother of former Member of the Northern Ireland AssemblyDerek Hussey and emeritus Professor David L Hussey and has 2 other brothers and a sister His father was Welsh and his mother from Northern Ireland. His early education was at Omagh County Primary School, Omagh Academy and Omagh Technical College. On leaving the College he immediately began work with Pearl Assurance as a clerk in Omagh and was promoted through various ranks retiring from Omagh in 2003 as District Manager as a result of injuries he received whilst on duty as a part-time police officer with the RUC. During his career with financial services provider Pearl, he completed all 3 parts of the Financial Planning Certificate of the Chartered Insurance Institute. He retains his association with the CII as a member. Hussey studied history and then law as a mature student with the Open University. He holds a BA degree, a certificate in humanities and a certificate in law from the OU and he is a strong advocate for the university. He holds a Diploma in Community Development from NUI Galway and a certificate in the effective management of volunteers from Queens University of Belfast. He also holds a certificate and diploma in paralegal studies from the Institute of Legal Executives He is currently a mature student at Ulster University in Jordanstown undertaking study for a BSc Honours degree in Community Development
Ross Husseys' expenses claims had been the focus of media attention. Claiming £20,000 per year for constituency office rent. In 2014 comedian Tim McGarry commented on an episode of BBC The Blame Game saying it was "the Taj Mahal of Constituency Offices". However, in his defence, Hussey regularly highlighted the fact that whilst the office rent was high he personally paid his own electricity, heating, telephone, Internet, fax, and other office costs to maintain the office. Hussey confirmed that he would not be able to keep his current office after a review of the expenses system announced in March 2016. Hussey retired completely from public life following the collapse of the Assembly in 2017. He had been disabled by a back injury received whilst serving in the RUC and he had to undergo replacement knee surgery in 2017. He occasionally comments on political matters but concentrates his time on providing welfare support on a voluntary basis in the West Tyrone area.
