I think there is a misunderstanding in some of The Irish News reporting of the RHI, the most recent example being the story ‘Senior UFU figures applied to RHI scheme weeks before subsidy cap’ (May 26). I am sure you did not intend to imply these people did something wrong, but I nonetheless believe it is important to set the record straight.
The nature of the RHI scheme was that projects needed to be at an advanced stage before an application could be made. Most were up to two years in the planning. We made clear then, on behalf of all our members, that changing the rules after investments had been made would be unjust and unfair. That is why we lobbied for a grace period to allow installations close to completion to be finished. The UFU still believes that was the right course of action. Our role is to lobby against what we see as unfair treatment of our members and we believe this would clearly have been the case had the grace period not been allowed.
The implication in your article was that people rushed to get into this scheme to take advantage of the funding available before the cap. This was clearly not the case when considerable investments had been made, of which the government department responsible was well aware. These installations had been the subject of discussions with officials encouraging people to use the RHI scheme. A fault in the scheme was that projects had to be at an advanced stage before an application could be made. This is why changing the rules at that point would have been unfair and had it happened we may well have challenged the decision through the courts.
We have made clear on a number of occasions that we do not comment on the business affairs of individual UFU members. That remains the case, but I think in some of your reporting there has been a misunderstanding of the position farmers – high-profile and otherwise – found themselves in, having committed to substantial investments on the strength of assurances that the scheme was in place to fund the repayment of the loans they took out to install boilers. Throughout, farmers across a range of enterprises operated within the terms of a scheme promoted by the ministers responsible for agriculture and trade, as well as their officials.
WESLEY ASTON
Chief Executive, Ulster Farmers Union
Don’t use Manchester for political point scoring
The terrible events in Manchester has seen a reaction from certain political parties and commentators claiming that those who supported the armed struggle by the IRA have no right to condemn or offer sympathies to those killed and injured in that dreadful attack.
Practically all organisations, governments and political parties supported the use of violence by those involved in our recent conflict in some way or other. Are they all being accused of double standards?
The British state supported and aided the killing of people they called their own citizens throughout the conflict by both their forces and surrogate forces.
Not to mention that the British state has bombed civilians indiscriminately on numerous occasions throughout the years and continues to do so with their activities in other people’s countries.
Unionism and loyalism supported state forces and their own death squads. The Alliance party supported the state forces as did the SDLP.
It appears from recent comments by elected representatives and commentators that violence is ok as long as it is used by the mighty against those of no property. Where does the hypocrisy label really stick?
If Nelson Mandela had been alive today, would the same people have been as quick to accuse him of hypocrisy when he condemned the attack? I think not.
The fact that we have moved out of conflict has not stopped some from still trying to fight and win the war. Using the deaths in Manchester for political point scoring and attempting to rewrite the narrative and facts of our own recent conflict, only shows the double standards and political agenda of those making these comments.
ANNE QUINN
Belfast BT14
Trigger hope for a better future
I live in Belfast and wish to express that I believe ‘peace is possible’. As a mother, I am concerned that children and young people are probably frightened about their future when they hear the daily news. They may not realise that peace is possible. It is up to us as adults to talk about peace. Even if we don’t exactly know how we can create peace, just by talking about it will allow children to hear this as a possibility in our lives and hopefully help relieve some of their anxieties surrounding it. I feel we can make a start by aiming to be warm hearted and kind with everyone. Trying to feel compassion is worthwhile too, (remembering that some people have never experienced love in their lives before and therefore may not know what love is). Realising that we as individuals are powerful and can do anything. Encourage mutual respect. We are all equal and we all need each other. More international outreach from leaders meeting up to actively promote peace would be really good and very beneficial for young people to witness. And if you’re not sure how to start a conversation about peace just start with the line ‘peace is possible’. Even a child overhearing this one line could benefit enormously.
It could change their thinking into a brighter and more positive outlook, ease their anxieties, help build confidence in them and trigger hope for a better future.
KATE McCREADY
Belfast
Sinn Féin bashing
Does Maurice Fitzgerald have a single transferable letter? His latest bash Sinn Féin effort (May 16) was exceptionally tedious. He wrote that Sinn Féin are showing ‘their true colours by their ongoing homages’ to dead volunteers (in particular those at Loughgall). Sinn Féin never showed any other colours? Fitzgerald combined his onslaught with an attack on RTÉ, including a laughable assertion that RTÉ are slow to report Sinn Féin negatively. I wondered where Maurice received his dim-witted thoughts. They seemed familiar. I looked at Eoghan Harris’s latest anti-republican rant, in a Dublin Sunday newspaper. The same arguments were put; including attacking RTÉ. I have the height of respect for Co Cork, that produced Terence McSwiney, Tom Barry and Michel Collins, but little for Mr Harris and Mr Fitzgerald.
TOM COOPER
Dublin 6
Problematic mantra
Fr McManus speaks that the Sinn Féin candidate for Fermanagh/South Tyrone as the epitome of the election values of her party – fairness, equality and justice for all (May 22).
In this he may be correct. However, this mantra is problematic given that as a party this fails to include the unborn. One would have thought that the good father would have given this more cerebral reflection. Does not the Catholic Church stand up for those values whereby life is celebrated and nourished and to which the crime of abortion is total antithesis to such thinking? It’s a pity Fr McManus didn’t give this more thought.
JDP McALLION
Clonoe, Co Tyrone
