Opinion

Allison Morris: Heating scandal shows we're far from a normalised society

Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster has said she will not resign over a failed renewable heating scheme in Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster has said she will not resign over a failed renewable heating scheme in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster has said she will not resign over a failed renewable heating scheme in Northern Ireland.

IT'S not been a great few months for the Northern Ireland Executive.

And that's a pity because I'd high hopes for a new, more mature style of politics with an active opposition, all part of post peace normalisation.

Instead we have a modified style of politics defined by incompetence and denial of responsibility.

The Renewable Heat Initiative, a scheme aimed at reducing the use of fossil fuels and therefore helping the environment was a good idea.

It was a scheme aimed at making businesses in Northern Ireland a more environmentally friendly bunch and bringing them in line with similar industries in Britain.

The scheme across the water had a cap on the amount could be claimed to stop people exploiting its generosity. The Northern Ireland version had no such limitations placed upon it.

You would think someone's head would have rolled shortly after a whistleblower came forward and explained that after just five minutes research she'd established the RHI was an unworkable, costly mess.

But no, an audit office report six months ago highlighted its failings, among them that one farmer would be eligible to claim over £1 million over the scheme's lifetime and that some people were heating empty buildings to earn more from RHI.

Growing up my own children were no strangers to a hot water bottle and an extra blanket when money was tight and turning the heating on was considered a luxury rather than a necessity.

Those much worse off than me are forced to consider the decision to heat or not every day of winter.

And yet there are businesses and farmers heating empty buildings or opening windows and doors in order to keep the 'environmental friendly' wooden pellet burners going and earn extra cash.

And those people squandering valuable heat have broken no laws.

Under the badly constructed rules of the RHI scheme heating an empty barn is not illegal.

And when the penny finally dropped it still wasn't stopped with hundreds more businesses allowed to sign up after the failings had been raised.

Special advisor to the DUP, Stephen Brimstone, who only recently left for a job in the private sector, was one of those who signed up as was the brother of Spad Andrew Crawford.

And always there is no transparency from government. Instead it's left to journalists to chip away at exposing this scandal, yet another example of why we need a free press.

While an audit report highlighting failings was released earlier this year it wasn't until October when Arlene Foster was questioned by my colleague John Manley about when she knew, followed by a damning Spotlight investigation, that the scale of this mess has been recognised .

Ms Foster has to date refused to accept responsibility for the botched scheme she oversaw while minister at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment.

In fact she rubbished suggestions that she should be across "every single jot and tittle" of an initiative that is set to cost a total of £1.2 billion over 20 years.

An estimated £400 million of that, above what was calculated and that must be found by an already cash-poor Stormont Executive.

That's money meant for public services for you and your children and - as it's set to run 20 years - in some cases your children's children.

It's a mess, an almighty mess made worse by the refusal of those in power to take responsibility.

While I started by saying the new two party coalition with an opposition represented normalised politics, rest assured there's nothing normal about this mess.

For in any normal society scalps would have been claimed by now.

People have resigned for less, although rarely in the North where the abnormal is accepted with a shrug of the shoulders.

Arlene Forster has refused to fall on her sword, and this is where I will probably differ in view from many other commentators.

I don't think she should, she needs to stay and fix the mess she's responsible for by being asleep at the wheel while minister.

And also because the alternative as DUP party leader and First Minister is too awful to think about, Sammy Wilson or Nigel Dodds running the place? No thanks.

Simon Hamilton, who previously appeared ambitious and forward thinking becomes more and more like a middle ranking civil servant every day, showing none of the qualities or back bone needed for leadership.

Politics in the North is a case of two steps forward and three back at times.

We're far from normalised society with political leaders who refuse to take responsibility and empty farm sheds heated to tropical conditions while pensioners put on an extra jumper to survive the winter.

Think about that the next time you put on an extra jumper, or boil the kettle for a water bottle rather than turn on the heating.