Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
GAA in £1m plan to boost sport in city
RHI inquiry chief questions Foster on key advisers
THE GAA has unveiled a £1million plan to strengthen and promote Gaelic games in Belfast.
“Gaelfast” is a five-year project that will place expert coaches in schools.
This will be in addition to development of facilities within the city, through Belfast City Council’s partnership with the GAA that began three years ago.
The aim of the plan is to increase membership levels of clubs, with around 20 schools at first taking part in the scheme which starts in September.
GAA president John Horan said: “Belfast has a rich history of Gaelic games and this five-year plan aims to build on that and further promote the association across all sections of the city.” THE chair of an inquiry into the botched green energy scheme has questioned whether a department run by DUP leader Arlene Foster was dysfunctional.
Sir Patrick Coghlin expressed concern at working practices in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment at the time when Mrs Foster decided in 2011 to introduce the ill-fated renewable heat incentive project.
Much of her second day giving evidence to the inquiry at Parliament Buildings in Belfast focused on a key 2011 meeting examining two different ways to structure the RHI, an upfront grant for buying eco-boilers or a 20-year payment scheme to subsidise fuel costs. Mrs Foster opted for the latter. A series of fatal flaws in the design of the subsequent scheme created an impetus to “burn to earn” exposing Stormont to a huge overspend.
What was discussed at the June 2011 meeting is a matter of dispute, uncertainty compounded by the fact no official minutes of the encounter were recorded.
The head of Deti’s energy division has claimed information indicating the fuel subsidy option was not the best valuefor-money option was put to Mrs Foster.
Yesterday, the DUP leader told the inquiry she had no clear recollection of the meeting with Fiona Hepper, but added it would have been “incredible” for her to select that model had she been presented with information highlighting its flaws.
Pressing Mrs Foster on the meeting, Sir Patrick questioned why her then special adviser Dr Andrew Crawford had not read key expert reports related to the various RHI options and why Mrs Hepper had not endeavoured to record a note of the encounter.
He said: “Does that not start to edge toward a dysfunctional department?
“If these are the two people you trusted and one of them didn’t read any of the detailed documentation and the other one comes to you with an explanation that involves additional information, but no notes are made of it, no inquiry is made as to whether notes are being made?
“And yet this is a unique project.” He added: “You do wonder what is going on within this department.” Mrs Foster told the inquiry she was surprised no minutes were taken and suggested the under-pressure energy division staff may have been taking “short cuts”.
She said: “I do have to say I was somewhat taken aback that there were no notes of the meeting.
“I would have expected notes, if not taken at the meeting, at least after the meeting there would have been some sort of record of what I had said at the meeting, what she had explained to me.
“That’s why it is disappointing because of course if we had those notes there would be clarity around this.”
Earlier in the inquiry, Northern Ireland Civil Service chief David Sterling claimed a culture of not taking notes developed within Stormont departments due to the ruling parties’ fear of sensitive discussions being made public through the freedom of information process.
Mrs Foster indicated she was not aware of such a practice.
The inquiry continues.