Renewable Heat Incentive scandal
[3] The plan, initiated in 2012, was overseen by Arlene Foster of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the then-Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment.
[4] The affair ultimately caused Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness to resign in protest as deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland in January 2017 after ten years in office, citing Foster's refusal to stand aside from her role while an investigation took place, among other matters.
[5] In the power-sharing government, McGuinness' resignation also meant that Foster was removed from her role as First Minister, which in turn caused the Executive Office of Northern Ireland to collapse for the subsequent three years.
On 16 January 2017, Sinn Féin refused to re-nominate a deputy First Minister in protest at what they called the "arrogance and disrespect of the DUP", thereby triggering a snap election.
On 11 January 2020, after having been suspended for almost three years, the parties reconvened on the basis of the New Decade, New Approach agreement proposed by the Irish and UK governments.
Under the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, 30 members may submit a "Petition of Concern" to the Speaker of the Assembly on any motion or proposed legislation, making it subject to approval by cross-community vote.
The intention of the scheme was for businesses and non-domestic properties to begin using renewable heating sources such as wood pellets by offering them generous subsidies.
The lack of cost control led to the Northern Ireland Executive committing a figure of £490m, based on the NIAO report 2015/16, to the scheme over 20 years.
After news of the affair broke, Bell said on the BBC Radio Ulster programme The Nolan Show that DUP special advisers and Foster "intervened" to prevent the closure of the scheme.
[16] The Northern Ireland Assembly was recalled on 19 December 2016 to discuss the issue at the request of Foster and Martin McGuinness, the deputy First Minister.
[21] There were calls on Foster to quit and mounting pressure on her to do so from Stormont's opposition parties after it was claimed that Dr Andrew Crawford, her special advisor, had not received correspondence relating to concerns over the RHI scheme.
Colum Eastwood, SDLP leader, said that Foster "should follow the precedent set by her predecessor and resign to restore confidence in the office of first minister while these questions hang over her".
The constitutional impartiality of the Speaker was called into question by opposition parties because he allowed Foster to make a ministerial statement without agreement with Sinn Féin.
[31] Sinn Féin were equally incensed by the Speaker's blatant politicking making his position "untenable" as a result of the "shambolic proceedings".
On 10 January 2017, it was revealed that British Prime Minister Theresa May and Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny had a telephone conversation to discuss the "ongoing crisis" at Stormont.
[39] McGuinness led talks on behalf of Sinn Féin but, in a statement after the meeting, Flanagan said that he believed the Secretary of State (Brokenshire) would have "no choice but to call an election".
[36] The SDLP's leader Colum Eastwood welcomed the resignation of McGuinness and said that the DUP governed "disgracefully and it has extended well beyond the leadership of Arlene Foster".
[41] The SDLP said that Sinn Féin were "jointly responsible" and that the public "also understand that there is one reason for this potential election – Arlene Foster's arrogance".
[43] Nesbitt said that there was an onus on Claire Sugden, the independent Justice Minister, to call a public inquiry and it is "farcical" to move "straight to an election" without having the "facts of the RHI debacle exposed".
The money funded annual trips for 100 young people in Northern Ireland to the Donegal Gaeltacht where they could attend Irish language classes.
After Brokenshire's announcement, British Prime Minister Theresa May and Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny discussed the situation by telephone.
[49] The Prime Minister and the Taoiseach "repeated their desire to see the institutions established under the Good Friday Agreement operating effectively" and also "expressed hope that the election campaign would be respectful".
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) confirmed that it is considering a request for the Chief Constable to investigate allegations of fraud in the RHI scheme.
[53] On 17 January 2017, Robinson told the Press Association that his father-in-law applied to the scheme in August 2015, one day after he denied having any family connections.
[55] He named the DUP special adviser in question as Andrew Crawford, who was also accused by former Minister Bell as pressuring him to keep the scheme open.
The then-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland James Brokenshire extended the talks deadline by early May, threatening direct rule if the parties did not form a government.
The talks deadline was extended again until 29 June 2017 owing to Prime Minister Theresa May's decision to call a snap general election.
The UK Parliament was forced to pass a budget for the ongoing financial year 2017–18 which would then release the final 5% of Northern Ireland's block grant.
PM Theresa May and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar attended the talks, but they collapsed again although Sinn Féin claimed that they had reached a deal with the DUP.
In March 2018, David Sterling, who served as Permanent Secretary of DETI at the time of the scheme's implementation, claimed that civil servants "broke their own rules to acquiesce in the DUP and Sinn Féin's desire for secrecy".
