DUP calls for the closing of a foreign donation loophole after it was revealed that Sinn Fein income was £1.2 million in 2022

The five political parties with income or expenditure over £250,000 were:

• Alliance income was £522k and expenditure was £545k
• DUP income was £426k and expenditure was £488k
• SDLP income was £424k and expenditure was £396k
• Sinn Fein income was £1.2m and expenditure was £1.5m
• UUP income was £234k and expenditure was £400k

East Belfast MLA David Brooks said: “Sinn Fein is not a normal political party, and this includes their finances. They are the richest political party on either side of the border.

"There is no cost of living crisis in Connolly House and Sinn Fein’s wealth is a far cry from the deprivation in communities which Sinn Fein has poorly represented for decades.

“Significant questions have already been asked in the Republic of Ireland about Sinn Fein’s finances, and whether their peculiarly partitionist attitude to donations is distorting politics on both sides of the border.

“It’s time the foreign donation loophole was closed which sees Northern Ireland stand alone in the UK and Ireland as the only place where foreign money can influence politics.”

Cahir Hughes, Head of Electoral Commission Northern Ireland, said: “We are committed to making sure political funding is transparent.

"Larger parties spend and receive considerable sums of money so it’s important that information on their finances is accessible to the public.

"Publishing their accounts allows voters to see how parties are funded and choose to spend their money.”

In total the parties reported £2.8m of income and £3.4m of expenditure. This compares with five parties reporting £2.8m of income and £2.5m of expenditure in 2021.

The full financial accounts of all political parties are available on the commission’s website.

Sinn Fein, the Alliance Party, SDLP and the Ulster Unionist Party were all asked for comment on the figures. Each of the parties did not make a response.