Debate contribution: Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme (Closure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026
Debate contribution by Mr David Honeyford on .
- MLA
- Mr David Honeyford
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 7 September 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Executive Committee Business
- Heading
- Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme (Closure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5670332
Read the official Assembly record
Text
We also support the regulations and the final closure of the RHI scheme. It has been a long and extremely difficult chapter for the Department and for the Assembly. The damage caused to confidence in this place is not to be underestimated. I also thank the Minister for bringing this through to closure. I never thought that I would see the day when this was ended, and, Minister, I thank you for that. Thank you for listening at Committee Stage. You listened to us on the extra bands that we raised, so credit where it is due. That came back with changes to the Bill. Thank you for that.
I also pay particular thanks to Catriona Harkin from the Department. She was outstanding at taking the Committee through the detail of the regulations and at listening to what we were saying. That engagement is so important, as it is vital for Committee members to have confidence that the Department is listening to what they are saying. She was outstanding not only with us, however. She went to the Renewable Heat Association for Northern Ireland (RHANI), to farmers and to the business community, all of whom were affected by the scheme. She was able to bring all of them together, which is no mean feat. I mentioned that at the Committee, but it deserves to be recognised in the House as well. I commend Phillip, the Chair, for mentioning that. I agree with every word that he said, but I also wanted to thank her personally. With the transition from Ofgem, the priority for participants is now the transition period, as we move forward with the new rules. We know that a gap was created between the Ofgem departure at the end of the previous school term and the timing of the regulations. I thank the Department for its reassurance that people will not be left out of pocket as a result of that administrative change as the Department sets up the scheme and the change is made. I thank the Department for that. I also thank it for its assurance that the entitlement will not be lost and that it will move at pace on the commitment that the farm, the business or whatever user it is will see the money quickly and will not be waiting for cycles and that bureaucracy will not get in the way of delivery. I commend the Department for that. I would appreciate an update from the Minister on whether that work is under way. Ultimately, as the RHI scheme closes, we can never allow what happened to happen again. Safeguards, scrutiny and accountability all have to be in there. Public money has to be protected, but there is another lesson that we need to learn. Unfortunately, I still see the ghost of RHI hovering in the midst of other areas in the Department. The fear of getting something wrong could become a fear of doing anything at all and thus cause delay. We therefore have to check ourselves. As Sinéad mentioned, we will be debating the Second Stage of the Renewable Electricity Generation Bill tomorrow. That legislation is two years behind schedule. As we try to transform energy, we cannot allow the mistakes that have happened in the past to paralyse decisions that we need to make for the future, because people need change to come forward, and they need it to happen quickly. As I said, the new renewables scheme is two years out of date. We have seen another spike in energy costs with the increase in the price of oil and gas, and we cannot allow the RHI debacle of the past to ghost into the future. We need a Department that understands risk but that also manages it properly and scrutinises it, that is upfront with Committees and that lets us get on with delivery. Finally, there is an opportunity to take something positive from the ending of the scheme. At the end of June, we heard in Committee that there would potentially be £10 million left from the annually managed expenditure (AME) budget that could be used to support the development of the biomethane industry, for example. I strongly encourage the Minister to pursue that at pace, as soon as we know that that money is there to be used, so that research and development, for instance, can go ahead. We must ensure that that money is not left in a pot and that we close the chapter properly and make sure that everybody involved receives what they are entitled to. We must learn lessons and not allow the legacy of the past to hold back the future. We must move forward and deliver for people.
788 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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