North Antrim DUP MP Ian Paisley has given his wife a £20,000 pay rise for her part-time job, it has been reported.
Fiona Paisley has worked as an administration manager for her husband since 2015.
Mrs Paisley, who is a paediatric nurse, was initially paid between £0.01 and £5,000 for the 2015/16 financial year.
A year later the figure jumped to between £10,000-£15,000 and stayed at that level until 2019.
However, in the 2019/20 financial year, her pay rose to between £30,000 and £35,000 while her job title and part-time status were unchanged.
It has been reported that Mr Paisley employs six people with two positions, senior parliamentary assistant and senior administration officer, listed as full-time.
The Sunday Independent has reported that during the 2020/21 financial year, Mr Paisley claimed £154,336.46 for staff costs.
The figures were obtained from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority’s official website, which provides a breakdown of MP staffing costs.
It has also been reported that the wife of DUP leader and Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson has also seen a pay increase.
Mr Donaldson employs his wife Eleanor as a senior secretary and she recently saw her wage increase from between £20,000-£25,000 to between £25,000-£30,000 in the 2020/21 financial year.
Other prominent DUP figures who employ close family members include East Derry MLA Gregory Campbell.
His wife Frances is employed as a part-time secretary on a salary of between £15,000 and £20,000, a figure that has not changed since 2010.
It has also emerged that East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson also employs his father John as a part-time office manager and he receives a salary of between £20,0000-£25,000.
When appointed to the role in 2015/16 Mr Robinson was paid between £10,000-£15,000 with the current rate being applied the following year.
The DUP was asked to comment on the figures.
