Debate contribution: RHI Inquiry Recommendations: Implementation

Debate contribution by Mr Colin McGrath on 5 November 2024.

MLA

Mr Colin McGrath

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

5 November 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

RHI Inquiry Recommendations: Implementation

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4632095

Read the official Assembly record

Text

In any other place in the world, the story of a state-subsidised scheme to encourage renewable heat would be a humdrum filler. It would appeal to a small section of people and would not encourage much by way of interest or remarkable headlines. Yet, somehow or another, only a few years ago, that very matter was the catalyst for the collapse of the Government here, and it has become synonymous with dysfunction, alarming levels of ineptitude and financial inequality. The last Member to speak hit the nail on the head with a number of those examples. One has to wonder, as many Members have said today, what has actually been learned from that process and how much has changed when it comes to dysfunction. The renewable heat scheme should have been straightforward, yet it exposed Government Ministers who were not across their brief and civil servants who were out of their depth, all of which was finally brought to light by a respected local journalist and a whistle-blower. It is important to note that it was not brought to light by those who were administering the scheme working out that they had done wrong and needed to change it. It was not their effort to say, "We have to put right something that we did wrong". It took a journalist to amplify that and get the change that was required. In an effort to address the scheme's failings and ensure that they were not repeated, Sir Patrick Coghlin was charged with leading an inquiry into that scheme. His final report set out all of the recommendations aimed at overhauling practices and implementing safeguards to prevent future governance failures. However, a lot of the damage had already been done, because it was not just wood pellets that went up in smoke as a result of RHI. Trust in our political institutions and political leaders went up in smoke, and trust in the Chamber went to pot as a result of what took place. In the eyes of the public, the saga had all the hallmarks of a Government doomed to fail: political leaders not seeking the common good; the inequality of overseeing a scheme that some could exploit for profit; and the waste of millions of pounds of public money. Given that Sinn Féin collapsed this place over the RHI scandal and has held the Finance Ministry since Sir Patrick Coghlin's report was published, I would have thought that it would be eager to implement the report's recommendations and help to restore trust in politics. It has the ability to do so through the brief that it has. Yet, as has been demonstrated, many, many years later we still have to wait for the recommendations to be fully implemented. As has been said, 40% of the recommendations are not fully implemented, and five have not even been started. Just as it took a journalist to find out what was happening with RHI, it has taken the Audit Office report to find out that things have not been implemented. It seems that we just do not learn lessons about being open and getting on with the work that we have to do. We know that reform is a slow burn in most places, but, my God, in this place, it is even slower. The Executive's process of reform has frozen solid. That is such a surprise when, so often, it is Executive parties that shout the loudest about the need for reform.

Thank you. As the debate goes on, we learn about more and more things that have not taken place. Yet, a massive light has been shone on this, and it asks, "What are you doing? Why is this not happening?" That is a disgrace. As I was saying, one of the greatest disgraces is seeing those who shout most loudly about reform being more than happy to trot in and take their ministerial positions, get their wages and their spads and not ask for a single commitment to reform in return, yet they will often stand up and say that it is their raison d'être. You just have to make sure that people weigh that up.

The public have a very simple message for the Executive: just get on with it. Do the reform that is required and make sure that there is openness and transparency, and let us build the necessary faith that the public should have in these public institutions.

742 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:31 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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