Arlene Foster has admitted responsibility for the "fundamental flaws" in her former department's green energy scheme – contradicting her previous assertion that as minister she could not be across "every single jot and tittle" of policy.
When first questioned by The Irish News in October about her oversight of the botched Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), the DUP leader refused to accept any blame for the scheme's shortcomings, saying "it was developed by officials in a way that shouldn't have been developed by officials".
When it was highlighted that they were in her department, Ms Foster responded: "I hope you're not suggesting I get to see every single jot and tittle that goes on in every ministerial department.
"Ministers do not get to see that level of detail as you well know. We get to see the overall policy in terms of those renewable schemes."
But yesterday in a statement in the assembly chamber, the former enterprise, trade and investment minister acknowledged that ministers are answerable not only for their own actions and decisions but for those of civil servants in their department, "regardless of any personal responsibility for actions or omissions by officials".
"In practice, ministers determine their department’s policies and delegate the implementation of these policies to officials," she said.
"It is the departmental accounting officer – normally the permanent secretary – who is responsible for the stewardship of resources within the department’s control."
Mrs Foster claimed she was on record accepting that she was accountable for the actions of the department during her time as minister but that this had been "lost amidst the media hype".
"I am sorry that the initial scheme did not contain cost control measures and that there were fundamental flaws in its design," she said.
The DUP leader described the failure to cap RHI subsidies like a corresponding scheme in Britain as the "deepest political regret" of her time as an MLA. She said she accepted responsibility for the work of the department while she was minister.
"Once again, for the avoidance of doubt, I believe that it is right and proper that I answer to the assembly for my role in the RHI scheme, and not for one moment do I seek to shirk or avoid that responsibility," she said.
Arlene Foster speaking to the Irish News in October about the RHI scheme:
"But if we are to learn lessons from the entire experience, it is essential that we know exactly where things went wrong."
Mrs Foster said the wholesale adoption of the RHI scheme that operated in Britain "would not have been appropriate" in 2012.
She said the scheme's "crucial mistake" was that the tariff for the most commonly used boilers was higher than the market price of wood pellets.
"In essence, this created an incentive to continue to burn fuel over and above the levels required for the relevant function – whether a commercial business operation or a community facility such as a nursing home or church," she told the assembly.
The DUP leader said a "further major failing" was too few inspections of businesses claiming RHI.
She said the fact that the subsidy was greater than the cost of wood pellets was "the heart of the RHI story" but that her then department's business case stated that the tariff was lower.
"This crucial misunderstanding informed Deti’s attitude to RHI in the subsequent years. It helps explains why concerns were not taken seriously enough, and why action was not taken quickly enough when problems emerged," Mrs Foster said.
However, she insisted that she did not simply impose the scheme but that it was set out in legislation and scrutinised by the relevant committee.
"The unfortunate reality is that no one in government or in the assembly in their work creating and passing this legislation picked up on this crucial failing," she said.
