The Westminster parliamentary standards commissioner is examining a complaint about the North's First Minister, the Rev Ian Paisley, employing his son Ian jnr as a researcher while he also worked as an Assembly member and junior minister.
The DUP also disclosed yesterday that 19 of its MLAs, seven of whom also work as MPs, employ family members. East Derry DUP MP and Assembly member Gregory Campbell further confirmed that he rents a constituency office from his wife.
Mr Paisley jnr, who resigned as a junior minister on Monday, earns between £9,000 and £11,000 as a researcher from Dr Paisley's Westminster allowance, a job he has held since 1998. This is in addition to the salary of almost £63,000 as an MLA and junior minister.
Following a complaint from a member of the public, parliamentary standards commissioner John Lyon is carrying out preliminary work to establish whether this requires a formal investigation to determine the propriety of Mr Paisley jnr being employed in this part-time capacity.
Mr Paisley jnr felt compelled to resign as a Junior Minister earlier this week following controversy surrounding political and business dealings. One of the issues raised against him was that he and his father have paid £42,000 to rent offices in Ballymena from a company whose sole director is his father-in-law.
DUP MP and MLA Mr Campbell confirmed yesterday that he too rented his constituency office in Coleraine from his wife, who also works full time for him, at an annual rent of £12,000. Such an arrangement is frowned upon at Westminster but is allowed under Stormont Assembly rules.
The constant media focus over recent weeks on the Paisleys, on the resignation of Mr Paisley jnr, the speculation about whether Dr Paisley will stand down as First Minister and DUP leader and the controversy about how Mr Paisley jnr ran his political and business affairs has also led to pressure on the DUP to reveal how many MLAs and MPs employ relatives.
DUP chairman Lord Morrow issued a statement yesterday stating that DUP MPs and MLAs employ 136 people, of whom 26 are relatives of MLAs. He issued a list of 18 Assembly members who employ family members. The biggest family employers are Peter and Iris Robinson, who employ two sons, a daughter and daughter-in-law.
Dr Paisley employs his son Ian on a part-time basis and his two daughters on a full-time basis.
Lord Morrow's list amounted to 18 MLAs but later on UTV yesterday evening Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure Edwin Poots said that he also employed a relative, which means that 19 of the DUP's 36 MLAs employ relatives. Lord Morrow, who in a staff of three employs his sister-in-law full-time, said the DUP provided an unrivalled constituency service. "It is important that the appointment of employees is conducted in an appropriate manner. The use of public funds by elected representatives should be subject to rigorous scrutiny through whatever procedures Westminster, the Assembly or the Electoral Commission deem appropriate," he said.
"We must ensure that the highest levels of transparency are maintained. However, we have also been careful to respect the confidentiality of our employees. We must be mindful that employees of elected representatives have often been the target of sectarian attack," he added.
Meanwhile, Mr Paisley jnr, at one of his last functions as junior minister at Stormont on Wednesday night, said his resignation had not affected his father's position or the "Paisley brand".
He said the Paisley brand in terms of running Northern Ireland had been very effective.
