Boiler owners in court to prevent publication of names

A lawyer has argued that if the economy minister publishes the names of owners of RHI boilers, there will be a "feeding frenzy by the media".

Owners of biomass boilers who are in the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme have gone to the High Court in Belfast on Tuesday to try to stop the publication of their names.

A lawyer for a group of 300 RHI participants has told the court that none of the publicity around the scheme so far, has "been concentrated on legitimate use of the scheme."

The court also heard that no where in the RHI policy documents does it say the name and address of a participant would be made public.

The group of participants in the flawed RHI scheme are seeking leave for a judicial review to prevent the Economy Department releasing their names.

Economy Minister Simon Hamilton has said he plans to make a list of those in the scheme public on Wednesday.

The lawyer representing the Economy Department told the court that the cost exposure of RHI was expected to deplete the NI block grant by £490m over the next 20 years.

He argued that the matter was "of profound public interest".

The economy minister's barrister also said the problems in the RHI scheme by the "diligent work of the NI Audit Office, the Public Accounts Committee and the media".