Debate contribution: RHI (Closure of Non-Domestic Scheme) Bill: Final Stage
Debate contribution by Mr David Honeyford on .
- MLA
- Mr David Honeyford
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 12 May 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Executive Committee Business
- Heading
- RHI (Closure of Non-Domestic Scheme) Bill: Final Stage
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5528294
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I rise to welcome the closure, finally, of the RHI scheme. It was an episode that will live long in the memory of this place, but it is now something that we can put to bed and move on together to try to make things better for people. I also acknowledge that the Minister has managed to bring all parties together in order to bring this to a close. That is something to thank her for and to welcome. At the outset with this legislation, my priority and that of the Alliance Party was fairness to people who had gone into the scheme legitimately. We wanted to make sure that people were treated with respect and were looked after so that they would not be wiped out by a change in government policy. During the Bill's progress through Committee and through the House, I raised some issues that I had around banding. I thank the Minister and the Department for addressing those issues and for creating extra bands that allow for flexibility. I understand the need for flexibility in the system in order to allow it to operate for the next 10 years. However, this is also about making sure that the taxpayer is protected and that we are not giving away money for burning, which is what originally happened. I put on record my thanks to the Department for taking that away and looking at it. I also thank the groups that gave evidence to us and stood up for the people who had boilers. Andrew Trimble from RHANI, the UFU, Professor David Rooney and others gave evidence to help the Committee through the process, and it is only right and fair that we acknowledge them. The end of the scheme will be music to the ears of everybody outside here, but the ghost of RHI must not hold the Department back as we move forward. We have to move forward now with the freedom of the AME budget and be able to transition away from fossil fuels to renewables. The Department needs to move at pace. As the closure of the scheme comes through, we need to see action. I know that that is the Minister's view as well, and she has committed to that. I hope that the past will not overshadow the future. I want to see a better future in which we can transition to renewables at a faster pace to allow everybody to be free of RHI and move forward. I am happy to support the Bill's Final Stage.
425 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.74).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.74 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.99 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:33 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
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