Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SHUT THE BARN DOOR ON SORRY RHI SCHEME
SF calls for end to fuel scandal
SINN Fein called yesterday for the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme which led to the collapse of Stormont to be scrapped.
The “cash for ash” initiative hit headlines in 2016 amid concerns over its costs.
A series of fatal flaws in its design exposed Stormont to a huge overspend, as it ended up paying out more to applicants than it cost them to buy the fuel.
An ensuing political row saw Sinn Fein apportion blame to the DUP, whose leader Arlene Foster was enterprise minister when the scheme began.
The late former deputy first minister Martin Mcguinness resigned from his position in January 2017, effectively collapsing the Assembly, in protest at the DUP’S “handling” of the scheme. Sinn Fein’s MLA Conor Murphy yesterday described it as a “sorry episode”.
Flanked by party colleagues Mairtin O Muilleoir and Caoimhe Archibald, the Newry and Armagh MLA said the scheme remains vulnerable to abuse.
Mr Murphy added the funding should be redirected into another scheme that would be more effective in cutting carbon emissions.
He said: “RHI is not a good scheme that went wrong, it was a bad scheme that was made even worse.
“We are now aware that before the RHI scheme was set up, a Department of the Environment report showed that compared to an alternative scheme, this scheme was less effective in reducing carbon emissions and nearly £200million more expensive. Despite this evidence the minister then responsible, Arlene Foster, opted for the less effective, more expensive option of RHI.
“The original error of establishing RHI was then compounded by incompetent design.
“Spending more public money on a scheme that is at best ineffective, and at worst counter-productive to the goal of carbon reduction, cannot be justified. “The RHI scheme is fundamentally flawed and should be closed.” The inquiry, ordered by then former finance minister Mr O Muilleoir in January 2017, remains ongoing. Mr Murphy said the probe is likely to hear more explosive evidence in the coming weeks.