DUP politician Ian Paisley Jnr has received free tickets worth around £3,200 to several major sporting events in recent months. He has had more “freebies” in the past year than any of the other 17 Northern Ireland MPs.
The gifts received by Mr Paisley and others are included in the latest Westminster register of interests in which they are also required to declare any money they earn on top of their salary.
MPs must also declare if they have shareholdings in a company and if they own land or a property other than their family home.
Eight of Northern Ireland’s MPs declared nothing on the latest register, which covers the period from January 2021 to last month.
Of those who did declare items, Mr Paisley stated he had received tickets to a number of sporting events.
He was given two tickets to the value of £1,260 to an Evening of Racing Champions event last January 22 in London.
The event, which was held at the Royal Automobile Club, was organised by Motorsport UK to celebrate the “best of British motorsport”.
On the MPs’ register, Mr Paisley stated said was “guest of honour” at the event in his role as chairman of Northern Ireland’s Motorsport Taskforce.
The North Antrim MP also registered that he received a ticket worth £350 for the Open Golf tournament at St Andrews last July 17. The ticket was given to Mr Paisley, who is vice-chair of the All Parliamentary Group for Golf at Westminster, by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club.
According to the register, Mr Paisley also attended the British Grand Prix the following day after being given two complimentary tickets.
The total value of the motor racing tickets, which included hospitality, was £1,516.80. They were given to him by Motorsport UK.
Lagan Valley DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson also received a complimentary ticket valued at £758.40 for the British Grand Prix last July 18. That ticket was given to the DUP leader by Motorsport UK.
Alliance MP Stephen Farry received honorary membership of the National Liberal Club in London last year.
The cost of the membership donated to Mr Farry, which covered the period from August last year to this month, was listed on the register as £798.
The National Liberal Club is based in a historical building in the centre of London. The club, which first opened in 1882 and offers a wide range of facilities for members, describes itself as “the home of British liberalism”.
In the register of interests, East Derry DUP MP Gregory Campbell stated that he received £375 from Edinburgh-based company Savanta Group Ltd for a series of surveys conducted between January and July 2021.
Mr Campbell was paid £880 by YouGov in London for surveys carried out between January and October last year.
Sinn Féin North Belfast MP John Finucane stated in the register that he received £4,672 a month in return for working between 40 and 80 hours at legal firm Finucane Toner Ltd.
He also declared that he owned “over 15pc” of shares in the company. He further stated that he owns a house in Belfast.
South Belfast SDLP MP Claire Hanna declared that she expected to receive a fee of £200 from the BBC for taking part in Radio 4’s Any Questions programme last September 17.
Ms Hanna said she also expected to receive a payment of £120 for a survey she took part in for YouGov last September 22.
Upper Bann DUP MP Carla Lockhart said she receives £2,500 a year for “farming and administrative” duties on a farm she partly owns.
She said this work takes up around eight hours a week.
Ms Lockhart also registered that she owns “agricultural land” in Co Fermanagh with her husband.
South Antrim DUP MP Paul Girvan stated that he jointly owns four houses with his wife in Belfast, Larne, Newtownabbey and Ballyclare.
Strangford DUP MP Jim Shannon stated on the register that since February 2017 he has owned 40 acres of land and a farm at Ballygarvin.
Mr Shannon is also the part-owner of a holiday home in the US.
The eight Northern Ireland MPs who did not declare any gifts or interests in the latest register were Órfhlaith Begley (Sinn Féin), Mickey Brady (Sinn Féin), Colum Eastwood (SDLP), Michelle Gildernew (Sinn Féin), Chris Hazzard (Sinn Féin), Paul Maskey (Sinn Féin), Francie Molloy (Sinn Féin) and Sammy Wilson (DUP).
MPs must also provide details on the register of interests on whether they employ family members.
The Sunday Independent recently revealed Mr Paisley had given his wife a pay rise of around £20,000 for the part-time job she does for him at Westminster.
Fiona Paisley has worked as an administration manager for her husband since 2015.
Mrs Paisley’s salary jumped from between £10,000 and £15,000 to between £30,000 and £35,000 in the 2019/2020 financial year, despite her job title and part-time status remaining the same.
When contacted, Mr Paisley declined to comment on his wife’s pay rise and whether any of his other staff had received a similar increase.
Three other DUP MPs employ family members. Jeffrey Donaldson employs his wife, Eleanor, as a senior secretary. Gregory Campbell employs his wife, Frances, as a part-time secretary, and East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson employs his father, John, as a part-time office manager.
Since 2017, MPs have not been allowed to employ family members, but those who began work at Westminster before the 2017 general election were able to continue in their roles.
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