THE mishandling of Northern Ireland’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme has significantly eroded public trust in governance, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) MLA Diana Armstrong has said.

Speaking in Stormont following a statement by the Minister for the Economy, Conor Murphy, Armstrong voiced strong criticism of the scheme’s failures and called for urgent action to rectify the financial harm caused to participants.

“At every stage from its creation, the RHI non-domestic scheme has been plagued by dysfunction," the MLA said. "That has created an understandable lack of confidence in the ability of government to deliver solutions that adequately address concerns.

“Many stretched themselves financially, assured that the tariffs would deliver sustainable incomes over the lifetime of the scheme. Those tariffs were even guaranteed in a letter by a former Member of this House to financial institutions. However, the reality has been quite different.

"Those who participated in the RHI scheme with genuine intent have been living a nightmare scenario of financial hardship since the scheme unravelled.”

The RHI scheme, which was overseen by the Department for the Economy, initially offered generous tariffs for those who installed renewable heating systems, such as biomass boilers, as part of the government's push toward greener energy.

However, significant flaws in the scheme quickly emerged, with the most notable issue being that the tariffs allowed participants to profit by generating excess heat, leading to an unsustainable financial burden on public funds.

As the scheme unravelled, subsequent reductions in the tariffs were introduced, leaving many businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, struggling to cope. 

“The amendments to the scheme in 2019 led to significantly reduced payments, leaving many participants struggling to recoup their initial investment costs," Mrs. Armstrong said.

"For small and medium-sized businesses, that made it financially challenging to maintain the renewable heating systems, undermining the original incentive to adopt greener technologies. "

Armstrong criticized the government's handling of the issue, particularly the decision to push for a resolution via urgent procedure at the end of July.

"As a result of the reduced tariffs, small and medium-sized biomass operators have been undercompensated since 2019," she said. "It is now the Department's stance that a tariff of 12 per cent demonstrates fairness to participants and the taxpayer.

"However, in fairness to the participants, they were encouraged to take up the renewable heat incentive scheme by the very Department that is now seeking to close this flawed episode."

The MLA called on the Department for the Economy to take immediate steps to address the financial losses experienced by participants. 

"The Minister must commence engagement immediately to find a solution that not only protects those who face financial hardship due to departmental failures but starts to rebuild confidence in the ability of the Assembly and Executive to deliver good governance," Mrs. Armstrong concluded.