FORMER First Minister Baroness Arlene Foster has suggested MPs should be paid more, saying that while the salary is "very good", it's "not huge". 

In an interview with This is Money, Baroness Foster said there is a "case to be made" for raising MPs pay. 

This was in response to a question, 'What was the best year of your financial life?'.

"I hope it is yet to come!" she said. "No seriously, as First Minister of Northern Ireland I was paid well, but it was a demanding job.

"While MPs get a very good salary (£91,346), it's not huge, and though it's not a popular thing to say, I think there's a case to be made for raising MPs' pay if we want to attract the best people to Parliament, given all that goes with the job."

The former DUP politician said that she was not paid "silly money" as First Minister. 

"It's only three years since I stepped down as a politician in Northern Ireland, and that job certainly didn't pay silly money," Baroness Foster said.

"Being a peer in the House of Lords and doing a bit of TV presenting and commentating, as I'm now doing, isn't going to make me madly rich either. Not that I'm complaining.

"For those of us who live outside London, I think the current daily Lords attendance rate of £361 is fair, since we have to cover our subsistence and accommodation."

When asked if she had ever struggled to make ends meet, Mrs. Foster said: "Not really, but while growing up I never had the money to spend on things like designer brands which are so common now.

"If I wanted something, like a bicycle, I usually had to wait for a birthday or Christmas or save up.

"I wasn't great with money at university and sometimes went to my father for a 'top-up', but I also worked in a supermarket at the weekend to supplement my student grant."

When asked to describe her "best financial decision", Baroness Foster said: "Buying the Hobbs and L. K.Bennett trouser suits, costing about £300, that I wore as First Minister and still wear.

"I usually opt for red because of my dark hair. As a woman in politics, you're judged on these things but are quite restricted as to what you can wear.

"It's a bit unfair because no one really cares what kind of suit a male politician wears."

When asked if she owned any property, Baroness Foster responded: "A five-bedroom 1970s bungalow in Northern Ireland which I own jointly with my husband.

"I love flowers and we have a nice garden although sadly I'm not blessed with green fingers."