The former head of Stormont's ethics watchdog has defended claiming rental expenses for close to 10 years for an office owned by her husband.

SDLP south Belfast MLA Carmel Hanna was speaking as an array of taxpayer-funded Assembly expenses claims were made public for the first time.

They included payments to Hanna and Co — the company of Mrs Hanna's accountant husband Eamon — for office space for her constituency advice centre.

The MLA said her rental expenses were set “at or below” the going rate after independent expert advice was taken.

Mrs Hanna is the former chair of Stormont's Standards and Privileges Committee, which enforces the Code of Conduct for members.

Current expenses rules permit MLAs to claim for constituency offices owned by relatives.

The information released overnight by the Assembly provides new information on other cases where politicians have rented from family members.

It had already been known, for example, that rental expenses from Gregory Campbell (DUP), Billy Armstrong (UUP) and Kieran McCarthy (Alliance) had gone to their wives.

But the sums and names involved over a number of years are now in the public domain.

The new Assembly disclosure covers the period 2003 to 2008 and lists the provider of Mr Campbell's Coleraine office as North West Property Management. The building is owned by his wife Frances, having been purchased by her in 1999.

Mr Campbell ceased making rental claims from the Assembly for the address in March last year. The arrangement lasted five years and involved a total of £63,000 being paid out by Stormont, at an annual rate of £12,600.

This newspaper revealed last year that Mr Armstrong had been paying rental expenses to his wife for a prefab constituency office located on their family farm in Stewartstown. The Ulster Unionist MLA announced that the claims had ceased at the end of 2007.

The newly released official information shows that the Assembly payments were made — at up to £350 per month — to “GM Contracts”. Mr Armstrong last night said GM stood for his wife's name — Glynis Margaret.

Rental sums for Mr McCarthy's Kircubbin office went to his wife's retail business Discount Drapery. This arrangement, which involved monthly payments of £450, has also ended.

MPs were barred from paying constituency office rental costs to family members some six years ago.

In her statement, Mrs Hanna said she rented office space from her husband from 1998 and was one of a number of tenants in the Elmwood Mews building.

“When I first rented the premises, I decided to locate on the busy Lisburn Road, the premises are at the rear of 102 Lisburn Road,” the SDLP MLA stated.

“I obtained an independent valuation on per square foot costs from a chartered surveyor based on the Lisburn Road, which is one of the most desirable and busy thoroughfares in Belfast. Comparable rents were actually much higher.

“The rent set was at or below the independent per square foot cost and included the provision of three car park spaces which normally would have been charged separately.

“This would have reduced the effective per square foot cost.”

The Assembly disclosure indicates that Mrs Hanna moved out of the Hanna and Co premises in early 2008.

The firm's rental income from Stormont in the last full financial year of the office use came to £8,225.