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Only 80 people responded to RHI information request

RHI Inquiry chairman Sir Patrick Coghlin during a Preliminary Hearing at Stormont. Picture by Colm Lenaghan, Pacemaker
RHI Inquiry chairman Sir Patrick Coghlin during a Preliminary Hearing at Stormont. Picture by Colm Lenaghan, Pacemaker RHI Inquiry chairman Sir Patrick Coghlin during a Preliminary Hearing at Stormont. Picture by Colm Lenaghan, Pacemaker

ONLY 80 people responded to a request to volunteer RHI information, even though more than 1,000 were contacted.

At the preliminary hearing of the RHI inquiry at Stormont yesterday, chairman Sir Patrick Coghlin said its solicitor wrote to all RHI recipients in May asking them to provide any information or documents they thought the probe should consider.

Recipients were asked questions including how they became aware of the scheme; whether they had had any contact with politicians, special advisers, or civil servants and whether anyone lobbied on their behalf.

The solicitor said although the recipients were under no legal obligation to reply, their co-operation would be appreciated.

Of the 1,058 people who were contacted, only 80 replied by the May 26 deadline.

However, Sir Patrick said some of the responses had provided the inquiry with useful information, including details which prompted it to summon people to give evidence.

The inquiry is probing the botched renewable heat incentive scheme which is effectively paying users to burn fuel.

The scheme is expected to cost taxpayers up to £500 million.

Sir Patrick said yesterday that evidence given by witnesses to the inquiry cannot be used in a criminal case against them.

He said the Director of Public Prosecutions Barra McGrory has confirmed this.

Those involved in the inquiry will have to wade through huge amounts of evidence, with 320,000 pages of documents having already been processed.

As part of the probe, 320 summons have been issued to individuals and organisations ordering them to produce evidence.

They include former Stormont ministers and special advisers, recipients of the scheme and consultants who helped create it.

The inquiry will begin hearing oral evidence at the start of October.