It’s been revealed that the former DUP leader and the Derry republican met in an official capacity on 146 occasions since the return of devolution in May 2007.

Personal meetings between the two men have not been officially recorded.

Mr Paisley stepped down from office last month and was succeeded by Peter Robinson, who also took over the helm of the DUP.

The political double act of Mr Paisley and Mr McGuinness confounded many critics who believed the partnership was doomed from the outset. Such was the public perception of their apparently jovial relationship, both men were famously dubbed ‘the chuckle brothers’.

The figure – which does not include one-to-one meetings between the two men – comprises a total of 29 Executive meetings jointly chaired by Mr Paisley in his role as First Minister with Mr McGuinness. Both men were involved in 17 regular departmental update meetings during their 13 months in office.

On 19 occasions, they were involved in meetings with visiting dignitaries to the North. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, current premier Gordon Brown and former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern have all been hosted at Stormont by both men as well as heads of the other regional assemblies.

According to the statistics, Mr Paisley and Mr McGuinness took part in 11 public engagements and three overseas visits encompassing several meetings.

The most high profile foreign trip was to the United States last December ahead of the spring US investment conference, when the then Stormont heads met President Bush at the White House.

A total of 67 joint meetings have been broadly categorised under the heading of ‘other business meetings’.

‘Impromptu basis’

An OFMDFM spokesman said one-to-one meetings between the First and Deputy First Ministers since May 8, 2007 were arranged on an “impromptu basis” and were therefore “not recorded”.

A DUP spokesman said there was nothing surprising about the figures given that Mr Paisley was First Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive.