Less than half the recommendations from RHI Inquiry implemented

Fewer than half of the recommendations from the Renewable Heat Inquiry have been fully implemented, a new audit office report has found.

Northern Ireland's Comptroller and Auditor General Kieran Donnelly said it was "disappointing" that two years on from a public inquiry, only 18 of its 44 recommendations have been implemented in full.

He also said it seemed surprising that only one civil servant associated with the scheme had received a written warning as part of a disciplinary process, but added that it seemed the process had been followed properly.

The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme, set up in 2012, incentivised businesses and farmers to switch to eco-friendly boilers by paying them a subsidy for the wood pellet fuel required to run them.

But mistakes in its designs saw the subsidy rates set higher than the actual cost of the wood pellets with applicants finding themselves able to burn to earn.

A public inquiry identified a multiplicity of civil service mistakes in the running of the scheme. The probe, chaired by retired judge Sir Patrick Coghlin, produced a 656-page, three-volume report containing 319 findings and making 44 recommendations aimed at addressing the litany of failures identified by the investigation.

The controversy over RHI led to the collapse of Stormont powersharing after the late Sinn Fein deputy first minister Martin McGuinness resigned in protest at then-first minister Arlene Foster's handling of the affair in January 2017.

Following the inquiry, the Stormont Executive established a dedicated sub-committee to oversee the findings and recommendations, assisted by the Department of Finance (DoF).

The audit office report said that initially the Executive had intended to produce an action plan in response to the RHI Inquiry by the autumn of 2020 but this was not achieved, partly due to Covid-19 pressures.

The full action plan was not published until October 2021.

The report said that of the 44 recommendations, 42 relate to actions to be taken by the Northern Ireland civil service and the Executive.

The remaining two recommendations are the responsibility of the Assembly and the audit office.

The report found that three quarters of the recommendations have either been implemented or have arrangements in place for them to be implemented shortly.

For the remaining recommendations, the report concluded that not enough action has either been taken or is proposed to sufficiently address the concerns of the RHI Inquiry.

Mr Donnelly said: "Given that it is now two years since the inquiry reported it is disappointing that there are only 18 recommendations that we can regard as fully implemented.

"I look forward to seeing further progress on the implementation of the remainder in the near future.

"The inquiry showed it is not enough to simply have rules and policies in place but rather it is much more important to have the proper culture to ensure that the intention of the rules are followed.

"Substantial and meaningful change is required, not mere tick box improvements."

The report also examined the disciplinary process that was carried out following the findings of the inquiry.

A panel of three experienced former civil servants from across the UK and Ireland were asked to consider if there had been potential breaches of civil servant standards of conduct.

The panel commented on 14 individuals, recommending charges of misconduct for 11 individuals and no action against the other three.

These charges were then considered by an internal civil service panel and a UK Government Cabinet Office panel which concluded that charges of gross misconduct should be considered against six individuals and misconduct against four individuals.

The internal panel also concluded that the disciplinary process need not be invoked against one individual.

The audit office report said that the disciplinary process was followed and ultimately one individual received a written warning for misconduct, two were found to have no case to answer, three were not upheld because there was no evidence to support the allegations, three cases concluded that no action should be taken and the remaining case was closed as the individual was no longer employed by the civil service.

Mr Donnelly said: "The seriousness of the issues that were discussed during the RHI Inquiry would have led most people to believe that significant disciplinary consequences would have arisen from it and in that context it seems surprising in that only one individual has received a written warning for misconduct.

"However, based on my review, I am satisfied that the disciplinary process appears to have been followed properly.

"It is important that this experience is closely considered to identify any lessons that can be learned and built into the ongoing review of Northern Ireland civil service disciplinary processes."