Ulster Unionist economy spokesperson Steve Aiken MLA has pointed out that the First Minister’s promised plan to mitigate the financial disaster of the Renewable Heat Incentive has not materialised.
Steve Aiken OBE MLA said:
“Mrs Foster’s appearance at the Assembly to make a statement on the Renewable Heating Incentive was trailed last week as the opportunity when the First Minister would set out a plan to recoup a significant part of the public funds which have been committed to the non-domestic RHI scheme over the next twenty years.
“No such plan was forthcoming today. Instead we got a long winded essay, which did not have the imprimatur of the Executive Office, again seeking to spread the blame and still refusing to take responsibility for this fiasco.
“Mrs Foster regrets, but will not apologise for her role in the renewable heat scandal. She is still holding to the line that she knew nothing.
“The most pressing question remains unanswered and unaddressed in her statement: How is the First Minister going to mitigate the losses in the public finances incurred by the RHI? As a responsible Opposition, we have already proposed the idea of a windfall tax on excessive and unjustifiable profits from the scheme.
“The First Minister said last week that she would recoup around half of the projected costs. Today was going to be the day when she set out the Arlene plan. However, no plan has been set out today. Simon Hamilton is going to come back with his plan in the New Year, apparently. This is a pathetic and unacceptable state of affairs for the taxpayers of Northern Ireland.”