Peter Robinson has praised the “remarkable courage and tenacity” of his wife Iris as she battles cancer.
The former DUP leader and first minister said an event to unveil his portrait at Stormont’s Parliament Buildings had been delayed for some time due to the “unpredictable ups and downs” of his wife’s illness.
Mr Robinson retired from politics in 2016.
His wife Iris Robinson is also a former DUP MP and MLA, but has stayed out of public life since it emerged in 2010 that she had had an affair and gave developers’ money to her teenage lover.
Mr Robinson told a ceremony in the Great Hall at Stormont that it had been “some considerable time since I retired”.
He added: “It is in no sense any tardiness on the part of the Speaker’s Office, the commission or the Assembly staff that it has taken seven or eight years for this event to occur.
“Some of you will know that for the past few years my wife Iris has had cancer, she has been operated and battling through it.
“But it still provides unpredictable ups and downs.”
Speaking to the media afterwards, Mr Robinson said his wife had gone through an operation and there had been complications.
He said: “I don’t want to go into the health issues but she has a remarkable courage and tenacity.
“She is going through the ups and downs. One say she is in perfect form and the next day she is having to deal with issues.
“So it is with all who have gone through that difficult experience.
“Probably it brings me out with a lot more respect for those who are involved in our health services.
“We really do have some tremendous people working in our hospitals and elsewhere in our health service.
“They don’t get the credit that they deserve.
“Maybe a bit more of the funding should go to them rather than those who are administrators of the process.”
