WE'VE reached tipping point in the ‘cash-for-ash’ scandal. We are now into its second week and this story is growing legs and is only going in one direction. The paper trail is leading to Arlene Foster’s ministerial desk.
One of the constant refrains about our politics in the north is that none of us should expect normal standards because we don’t live in a normal political environment.
There may well be some truth in that statement. However, it risks the danger of becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.
We are never going to raise standards in public life here if we don’t demand it from political leaders.
The scale of this scandal must finally mark the moment when expecting openness, accountability and honesty from our Executive ministers isn’t too much to ask. A touch of humility wouldn’t go amiss either.
In the wake of the Spotlight programme I deliberately reserved my judgment on Arlene Foster’s continued position as first minister.
Up to that point she had only given an interview to this newspaper’s political correspondent in which she revealed she wasn’t getting into the ‘jot and tittle’ of this issue.
I therefore wanted to afford her the opportunity to answer all the questions about this £400 million scandal.
However for well over a week now the opposition, the media and the general public have been demanding answers and they haven’t been forthcoming.
Other than a few carefully selected interviews, we have all been left with virtual silence, distraction or evasion on all the key questions.
The first minister’s initial tone and reaction that she knew very little and did even less with this scheme is losing credibility by the hour.
Arlene Foster speaks to the Irish News about the scheme in October:
Revelation after revelation is confirming that this wasn’t the case – in fact it is now being claimed that she personally intervened to keep the scheme open.
Since this story broke the DUP have been hiding out at their publicly funded safe house of Stormont Castle.
They’ve refused to release the names of the RHI beneficiaries, they’ve refused to tell us who was advocating for the scheme during the spike in applications in the Autumn of 2015 and they’ve refused to release all internal correspondence.
There is a way to make the DUP come clean on this issue though. Sinn Féin own the second pair of keys to the safe house.
They are in the position and have the power to open all of this up to public view. It’s now well past time that they threw the doors open.
This cannot be another case of business as usual at the Executive.
In the Nama scandal we were told that Sinn Féin weren’t informed about significant meetings and on Charter NI they have been incapable of suspending funding for a UDA boss.
If they continue that pattern of appeasement in this scandal, if they continue to stay silent and passive over the waste of over £400m of taxpayers' money, the question has to be raised – what are they actually doing in government and who are they representing?
This scandal is now therefore a test for Sinn Féin. Last night I published a motion of no-confidence. Thirty MLAs are needed to bring it before the Assembly.
It shouldn’t just be opposition MLAs on that piece of paper, Sinn Féin should sign up too.
Arlene Foster should follow the precedent of stepping aside as first minister.
That would provide her with the space to give full and frank answers as investigations continue.
I think most people would take the view that this is a reasonable request in the circumstance.
Sinn Féin now faces a simple choice - the motion will only succeed with them on-board.
Will they join with me in signing this Assembly motion of no-confidence in Arlene Foster or will they continue to let the DUP sit tight in their government safe house?
