Renewable Heat Incentive scandal

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

File:Arlene Foster MLA.jpg
Arlene Foster MLA, who set up the scheme in her role as Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment minister

The Renewable Heat Incentive scandal (RHI scandal), also referred to as the Cash for Ash scandal,[1] is a political scandal in Northern Ireland that centres on a failed renewable energy incentive scheme which is set to cost the public purse almost £500 million.[2] The plan was overseen by Arlene Foster of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the then-Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment, who failed to introduce proper cost controls, allowing the plan to spiral out of control.[2] The scheme worked by paying applicants to use renewable energy. The rate paid was more than the cost of heating, however, meaning applicants were making profits simply by heating their properties.[2]

The political scandal first came to light in November 2016, by which point Foster had become Northern Ireland's First Minister. Foster refused to resign or 'stand aside' during any inquiry, saying that to do so would be seen as admitting to some culpability in the matter.[3]

The affair ultimately caused Sinn Féin leader Martin McGuinness to resign in protest as deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland in January 2017 after ten years in office, citing Foster's refusal to stand aside from her role while an investigation took place, among other matters.[4] In the power-sharing government, McGuinness' resignation also meant that Foster was removed from her role as first minister, which in turn caused the Executive Office of Northern Ireland to fall.

On 16 January 2017, Sinn Féin refused to re-nominate a deputy first minister in protest at the "arrogance and disrespect of the DUP".[5] The Northern Ireland Executive has collapsed and the Northern Ireland Assembly will be dissolved on 26 January 2017. A snap assembly election has been called by Secretary of State for Northern Ireland James Brokenshire for 2 March 2017.

Background

Politics of Northern Ireland

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Main article: Politics of Northern Ireland

Since 1998, Northern Ireland has devolved government within the United Kingdom. The Northern Ireland Assembly and the Northern Ireland Executive together make up the legislative and executive branches of the Northern Ireland government. There are 108 members of the legislative assembly (MLPs), all of whom self-identify as a particular designation: unionist, nationalist, or other. Under the terms of the Belfast Agreement, 30 members may submit a "Petition of Concern" on a motion to the speaker of the assembly making it subject to a cross-community vote. Motions subject to a cross-community vote, either by standing orders or by a petition of concern, require support from a majority of unionists and a majority of nationalists.

The Northern Ireland Executive is jointly led by a First Minister and deputy First Minister who are nominated by the largest parties of each of the two designations. In 2016, these parties were the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin. Because the First Minister and deputy First Minister is a joint office under Northern Irish law, the resignation of one vacates the whole office. If the office cannot be filled after a seven day period, the entire assembly is dissolved and a new assembly elected.

History

File:Wood pellets-small huddle PNr°0108.jpg
Wood pellets

The RHI scheme in Northern Ireland was managed and set up by the then Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment[lower-alpha 1] (DETI) in 2012 and was overseen by Arlene Foster, the DETI Minister at the time. The intention of the scheme was for businesses and domestic households to begin using renewable heating sources such as wood pellets by offering them generous subsidies.

The scheme was approved by the Northern Ireland Executive, but the scheme lacked any cost controls. Successful applicants to the scheme could heat their properties and make a profit from doing so. For every £1 that was spent on heating, the Executive paid the applicants £1.60. In effect, the scheme was paying people to heat their properties, as long as they used renewable resources. There was no upper limit on the payments, meaning applicants could make money by leaving their heating on constantly.

Fraud

Concerns of fraud were raised initially in 2013 and again in 2014, when a whistleblower contacted Foster to raise concerns about the scheme. The whistleblower stated that the scheme was 'flawed' and the concerns of civil servants 'were ignored' after she reported abuse of the scheme, as owners of properties that weren't heated before were now taking advantage of the scheme to earn money.[6] It is claimed that the team, which comprised of ten officials who investigated the whistleblower's claims, 'did not believe the informant' and did not report back to Foster.[6] Another whistleblower wrote a letter in January 2016 to tell Foster, who had by then become First Minister, about an 'empty' farm shed that was 'being heated for the subsidy'.[6] The scheme did not take into account that properties that were not previously heated, could now be heated for a profit.

The overgenerous offer led to the Northern Ireland Executive committing £490m to the scheme over 20 years. The large amount of money committed caused a warning from HM Treasury to be sent that the Executive would have to find the funds for it.[7][8][lower-alpha 2] The £490m spend would be spread over 20 years, as the participants of the scheme signed contracts with DETI and their payments were to last for 20 years. When news first broke of the botched scheme, it was originally thought that the total cost to the budget would be £400m, but this was later revised up to £490m.[8] Northern Ireland receives a block payment each year from HM Treasury, and the block payment will need to be adjusted as a result of the money committed to the scheme.

Arlene Foster moved to the Department of Finance and Jonathan Bell succeeded her as the Minister for DETI. After news broke, Bell gave an exclusive interview to the BBC Radio Ulster program The Nolan Show, where he said that advisers 'intervened' to prevent the closure of the scheme and Foster tried to 'cleanse the records' about Foster's involvement in delaying the scheme's closure.[9] Bell said that when he tried to close the scheme, he was told he couldn't by Foster. In the period that he claims he tried to close the scheme and the scheme's actual closure, there was a spike in applications which caused more money to be allocated to the scheme.

Investigation

Stormont's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was told that an independent audit of 300 sites that benefited from the scheme found issues at half of them. The audit also indicated that there were serious fraud issues at 14 of the sites.[10]

A total of 1,946 applications had been received, and the scheme had an approval rating of 98%.[clarification needed] After civil servants started to discuss closing the scheme, an additional 948 applications were made between September and November 2015. This enabled the applications to be judged before any changes to the scheme took place.[11]

The Northern Ireland Assembly was recalled on 19 December 2016 to discuss the issue at the request of Foster and Martin McGuinness, the deputy First Minister.[12]

Public dispute between Foster and Bell

Jonathan Bell MLA, who gave an interview claiming DUP members tried to postpone closure of the scheme

Jonathan Bell became DETI minister after Foster moved roles. Foster and Bell became involved in a very public spat as Foster accused Bell of prolonging the scheme's closure. The scheme attracted almost 1,000 applications in the last three months of the scheme, which is when the minister claimed he tried to close the scheme.[13] These two months are significant as Bell was not in his ministerial position, due to the DUP's rolling resignations in 2015.[14]

Bell gave an interview on The Nolan Show in which he accused the DUP's special advisers of trying to pressure him to keep the scheme open. He claimed that they weren't allowing him to close the scheme at its peak and named Timothy Johnston, special adviser to then First Minister Peter Robinson, and Andrew Crawford, an aide to Foster.[9] Bell accused Foster publicly of trying to 'cleanse records' to remove evidence of her interference. He also called for a public inquiry into the matter.[9]

On the same show, Foster gave an interview responding to Bell's allegations, although she hadn't yet heard his allegations as they were to be broadcast live that night. She accused Bell of using 'his physical bulk' to confront her and referred to him as being 'very aggressive'.[15]

The DUP party officers formally suspended Bell from the party after his interview for talking to the media without prior party permission.[16]

Political reaction

There were calls on Foster to quit and mounting pressure on her to do so, but she refused.[17] The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), Alliance Party, People Before Profit (PBP), Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV), and the Green Party signed a Ministerial Exclusion motion.[18] Although the opposition had a majority in the subsequent no confidence motion, their victory had no effect due to the constitution of the Assembly.[19]

Sinn Féin tabled another motion to call on Foster to 'step aside' whilst an independent inquiry takes place,[20] but Foster rejected any suggestion of her stepping down.[21]

Colum Eastwood, SDLP leader, said that Foster 'should follow the precedent set by her predecessor and resign to restore confidence in the office of first minister while these questions hang over her.' UUP leader Mike Nesbitt called for the MLAs to 'come together and protect the reputation of the institutions'.[22]

There were public protests in Belfast and in Derry calling for Foster to resign as First Minister.[23]

Recall of Northern Ireland Assembly

On 19 December 2016, the Northern Ireland Assembly was recalled from recess in order for Foster to give a statement to the chamber regarding the scandal. The opposition parties submitted a motion to exclude Foster from office for six months.

There was disagreement in the chamber as it turned out that Foster did not have Martin McGuinness' approval for the statement to be read. In Northern Ireland, the First Minister and deputy First Minister are joint roles. MLAs tried to raise points of order with the Speaker, Robin Newton (DUP), who did not allow them to speak. MLAs walked out of the chamber in protest and Newton suspended the sitting for 30 minutes.[lower-alpha 3]

As the Speaker allowed Foster to address the chamber in her capacity as First Minister without the consent of the deputy First Minister, all other parties walked out of the chamber in protest at the beginning of her statement. She gave the statement with only her own party present and, as a result, she only received questions from her party colleagues.[24]

Vote of no confidence

The motion to exclude Foster from office was made under Section 30 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which was intended for politicians involved in paramilitary activities. After three hours of debate, a division was called and the MLAs voted on the motion. Of the 75 members voting, 39 voted to exclude her from office, while 36 MLAs voted against. Although a 52% majority had thus supported the vote of no confidence, under Stormont rules, the vote was a cross-community vote that required the majority of nationalist MLAs and unionist MLAs to support it. One hundred percent of nationalist MLAs voted to exclude Foster, but only 29% of unionist MLAs voted to exclude Foster, meaning that Foster survived the vote of no confidence. Sinn Féin's MLAs did not vote. As the DUP is the largest unionist party in Stormont, it effectively has a veto on cross-community issues, meaning that some of Foster's own MLAs would have to vote against her for the vote to succeed.

After the vote, Sinn Féin announced that they will put a motion to the Assembly in January 2017 that would call for Foster to step aside from her role.[25]

Impartiality of the Speaker

The Speaker's position was called into question as he allowed Foster to make a ministerial statement without approval. Newton said he took the impartiality of the role "extremely seriously". MLAs complained that Newton "undermined the principles of power-sharing by permitting the first minister to speak without the agreement of the deputy first minister."[26]

Sinn Féin have said that Newton's position as Speaker has become "untenable" as a result of the "shambolic proceedings". Newton also faced calls to resign from the UUP and SDLP. Sinn Féin announced that they will lodge a motion of no confidence in the speaker. Declan Kearney, the party's national chairperson, called for Newton to resign with immediate effect.[27]

On 16 January 2017, the DUP launched a petition of concern in the Assembly to protect the Speaker from the motion of no confidence. 30 MLAs are required to sign a petition of concern and, when a petition of concern is deployed, any votes taken are subject to a cross-community vote. The petition of concern was originally set up to protect the rights of the minorities, but this also means that the DUP can veto anything in the Assembly, as they have the majority of unionist seats. In protest at the DUP's use of the petition of concern, Sinn Féin retracted their motion of no confidence as it would not be able to pass anyway. Sinn Féin called the petition of concern as 'insulting'. Sinn Féin MLA Conor Murphy said that the DUP "invoked the Petition of Concern to protect the Speaker" and said that the DUP are corrupting the institutions in their own interests and against the wishes of the general public."[28]

Resignation of Martin McGuinness and collapse of Stormont

File:Martin McGuinness 2009.jpg
Martin McGuinness, pictured here in 2009, was the deputy First Minister from 2007 until his resignation in January 2017

On 8 January 2017, Gerry Adams, Sinn Féin President, called on Foster to step aside and said that her refusal to do so was "unacceptable". He hinted that Martin McGuinness could resign over the scandal. Under Stormont rules, a resignation of either the First Minister or deputy First Minister automatically means that the whole office ceases to exist.[29]

The following day, McGuinness announced his resignation as deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. This also means that Arlene Foster is no longer in her position as First Minister. Under current rules, Sinn Féin had seven days to nominate another deputy First Minister to continue the office functions. Otherwise, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Northern Ireland Executive would fall and a snap election would be called by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.[30] McGuinness said that Foster had a 'clear conflict of interest' and it 'was the right time to call a halt to the DUP's arrogance.' He further accused the DUP of refusing to accept demands 'for robust action and responsibility.'[30]

Because Sinn Féin did not nominate a replacement for McGuinness, James Brokenshire automatically assumed control of Northern Ireland in his role as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 16 January 2017. Under current laws, Brokenshire is obliged to call an election within a reasonable time period. The next Assembly election will only elect 90 MLAs.[lower-alpha 4]

Under power sharing rules in Northern Ireland, Foster cannot continue in her role as First Minister while there is a vacancy for the deputy First Minister. This means that Foster lost her role when McGuinness' resignation came into effect. The Executive Office is therefore vacant.

There were allegations from the DUP that McGuinness' resignation was due to his ill health, and purely for "party political reasons" according to Foster.[31]

British and Irish governments' intervention

On 10 January 2017, it was revealed that British Prime Minister Theresa May and Irish Taioseach Enda Kenny had a telephone conversation to discuss the "ongoing crisis" at Stormont.[32] The British and Irish governments have "urged" Sinn Féin and the DUP to enter talks to resolve the dispute.

Irish Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan spoke to Brokenshire regarding the situation and Flanagan has urged all sides "to act responsibly to protect the institutions of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement."[32]

Brokenshire gave a statement to the House of Commons and described the situation as "grave".[33] He said that the British Government is treating it "with the utmost seriousness".[33] Brokenshire said that there is a widely held view that an election "will change nothing" and it will "threaten the continuity of the devolved institutions".[33]

Brokenshire convened crisis talks at Stormont with the political parties.[34] The Assembly will meet on Monday 16 January to nominate a deputy First Minister, and if one is not nominated, then the Assembly collapses. McGuinness led talks on behalf of Sinn Féin, but after the meeting, Flanagan believed the Secretary of State (Brokenshire) would have "no choice but to call an election";[34] his belief turned out to be correct.

Political reaction to McGuinness' resignation

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)

Shortly after McGuinness resigned, Foster called his actions "non-principled" and "purely political".[35] In his resignation, McGuinness said that there would "be no return to the status quo". Foster said that she was "disappointed that Martin McGuinness has chosen to take the position he has today."[35] She said that, due to his actions, "we will have no government and no way to resolve the RHI problems." She said that what annoys Sinn Féin "the most", is that the DUP will "always stand up for unionism and stand up for what is best in Northern Ireland."

Foster said that calls for her resignation are purely "misogynistic".[35] After the resignation, she also called for a public inquiry to be held under the 2005 Inquiries Act. She said that, if the election did happen, it would be a "brutal election" and said that Northern Ireland would be "in for a period of direct rule".[31] She said that an inquiry could happen without the approval of Sinn Féin, who pressured Foster to step aside due to her "conflict of interest". She said an inquiry, for her, would be "vitally important from a political perspective but also fundamental for me on a personal basis."[31]

Sinn Féin's Finance Minister Máirtín Ó Muilleoir said Foster's plan for an inquiry wasn't credible and "it would be a laughing stock if we now had an inquiry that was set up at her behest."[31]

Opposition parties

The SDLP's leader Colum Eastwood welcomed the resignation of McGuinness and said that the DUP governed "disgracefully and it has extended well beyond the leadership of Arlene Foster."[36] The SDLP said that Sinn Féin were "jointly responsible" and that the public "also understand that there is one reason for this potential election – Arlene Foster's arrogance."[36]

In response to Foster's threat of direct rule returning to the province, the SDLP leader called for "joint London and Dublin rule" if attempts to establish devolution fail.[37] He said there could be "no return to direct rule with London-based ministers in charge of the region."[37]

The UUP's leader Mike Nesbitt said that McGuinness' resignation "let the DUP off the hook".[38] He said that resigning "was not the way to resolve the RHI scandal".[38] Nesbitt said that there was an onus on Claire Sugden, the independent Justice Minister, to call a public inquiry and it is "farcical" to move "straight to an election" without having the "facts of the RHI debacle exposed".[38]

Alliance's Naomi Long said that DUP arrogance "recklessly endangered" the political institutions.[39] She also said that Foster's "inability to swallow pride" and her "belligerent attitude" placed the DUP on a collision course with Sinn Féin.[39] She called on Foster to step aside so that Sinn Féin can re-nominate a deputy First Minister before the 7-day period runs out. She said that "the public have a right to expect better."[39]

Possible impact on Brexit

During the weekly Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, Angus Robertson of the Scottish National Party (SNP) questioned whether the Brexit process will be delayed by the political crisis in Northern Ireland.[40] According to the timetable for Brexit, Article 50 will be triggered by the end of March. Robertson asked May whether she will delay Brexit so that the Northern Irish government can be consulted as she "pledged to consult with devolved administrations."[40]

May responded to the SNP's question by stating "we can find a resolution to the political situation in Northern Ireland' and that 'it is still the case that ministers are in place, and that obviously there are executives in place, and we are able to take the views of the Northern Ireland."

Líofa bursary controversy

On 23 December 2016, the DUP Minister for Communities Paul Givan removed £50,000 of funding from the Líofa Gaeltacht Bursary scheme. The money funded annual trips for 100 young people in Northern Ireland to the Donegal Gaeltacht where they can attend Irish language classes. McGuinness said the DUP's decision to remove funding from the Líofa budget was another factor for his resignation.[41]

Gerry Adams called Givan an "ignoramus" and called the decision "ignorant".[41] Givan came under pressure to reinstate the funding and he said that the original decision to cut the funding was "not political".[41] His decision spurred protests outside the headquarters of the Department for Communities in Belfast. As the protests were happening, Givan tweeted that he reinstated the funding after he "found the necessary funding". Furthermore, he said he "was not prepared to allow Sinn Féin to use that £50,000 as a political weapon against us [the DUP] in the upcoming election as tool to rally their troops, and so I've taken that away from them."[41] Givan's decision was welcomed by Irish language groups, but they insisted on an Irish language act to be a feature of any crisis talks.[41]

Collapse of the Executive and snap elections

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

See also: Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2017

On 16 January 2017, a plenary session of the Assembly was held to re-nominate a deputy First Minister. Sinn Féin's Health Minister Michelle O'Neill said before the Assembly session that "we are not interested in trying to get into negotiations now – what we need is fundamental change. We believe the public need to have their say."[42]

During the re-nomination process, both the DUP and Sinn Féin were twice asked to nominate a First Minister and deputy First Minister. Lord Morrow nominated Foster again for First Minister, which she accepted. Sinn Féin's nominating officer for the order of business was Michelle O'Neill, who refused to nominate a deputy First Minister. The vacancies in the office must be filled within seven days and, because these rules were not met, the Northern Ireland Executive collapsed. The Assembly will also be dissolved on 26 January 2017.

Responsibility and power for Northern Ireland transferred to James Brokenshire in his capacity as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 16 January 2017, and thereafter announced a snap election for 2 March 2017.[43]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment was renamed and amalgamated with other departments to form the Department for the Economy; the DETI article became the article for the newly formed Department for the Economy.
  2. ↑ The original figure stated £400m being committed to the scheme, but this was revised up to £490m.
  3. ↑ Robin Newton, the Speaker, did not suspend the Assembly because of the actions of the MLAs, but instead gave them time to read the statement that Foster was due to give. They were only given the statement 15 minutes prior to the start of the session.
  4. ↑ The Stormont House Agreement reduced the number of MLAs to 5 per constituency.

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Arlene Foster statement in full  – Belfast Telegraph, 10 January 2017
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Northern Ireland's Arlene Foster survives confidence vote  – The Guardian, 19 December 2016
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 41.2 41.3 41.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Arlene Foster says she is open to Sinn Féin talks to save power sharing  – The Guardian, 10 January 2017. "Under the unique rules of devolution in Northern Ireland, if either of the two principal political leaders in the province resigns from office, the coalition falls and an election must be called. "
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Renewable_Heat_Incentive_scandal&oldid=724639820"