RHI inquiry to have sweeping powers, but no hearings before election

Sinn Fein’s Mairtin O Muilleoir – whose party steadfastly refused to support a public inquiry for weeks until a sudden U-turn at the end of last week – told the Assembly today that Sir Patrick Coghlin would chair a three-person panel which will investigate the circumstances surrounding the scheme and its closure.

Sir Patrick, who was nominated for the post by the Lord Chief Justice, will be in post from next Wednesday and will from that point begin “gathering papers”.

However, there will be no hearings before the election, a decision Mr O Muilleoir said was Sir Patrick’s.

Setting out the powers available to a full public inquiry, Mr O Muilleoir said that it would be able to compel the production of almost any evidence whatsoever.

Responding to a question from Green MLA Clare Bailey, who asked if the inquiry could compel documents from the Electoral Commission to show who funds Northern Ireland’s political parties, the Finance Minister said: “It is my understanding that there is no information, certainly in this jurisdiction — there may be issues outside this jurisdiction — that he should not, or will not, be able to access”.

And, in what might be a hint about subpoenaing bank statements, the Finance Minister pledged that it would be “an inquiry that follows the money”

The Finance Minister also indicated that the permanent secretary of his department, David Sterling, has not been involved in the setting up of the inquiry due to his role as the most senior official working under Arlene Foster at the point when the RHI scheme was set up in 2012.

The Finance Minister expressed a preference for the hearings to be televised, saying: “We do not know where it will be held. I have a desire to see the inquiry held in public session on TV, and, in that regard, I know of a building with committee rooms that have TV coverage so that sessions can be broadcast [an apparent reference to Parliament Buildings].

“At this stage, the conversation about where the inquiry would be held is continuing.”

The Sinn Fein minister said that there is “an urgent need to get to the facts of the RHI scheme, to identify negligence, incompetence, alleged corruption and abuse, and to hold those responsible to account”.

And he said that Sir Patrick – who retired in 2015 – would be “unflinching in his pursuit of the truth and scrupulous in his analysis of the evidence”.

The Finance Minister said that he envisaged the process taking about six months but that there was neither a firm time frame for the inquiry nor a defined budget with both ultimately a matter for the judge.

There was widespread cross-party support for the initiative, something which was unsurprising given that every other party had been calling for a full public inquiry for some time.

Sinn Fein had been alone in opposing such a rigorous form of public investigation, instead calling for a less clear-cut “independent investigation” which might not have held its hearings in public and could only have had the power to compel witnesses and documents if the Assembly had passed legislation to give it those powers.

Just last week, Sinn Fein was so opposed to a public inquiry that it boycotted an Assembly sitting at which the possibility of such an inquiry was debated.

But today Mr O Muilleoir said: “By getting to the truth of the RHI scandal, this inquiry team, led by the distinguished Sir Patrick Coghlin, will I believe address those wider issues and therefore go some way to rebuilding the shattered public confidence in the institutions.”

Sir Patrick will be assisted by two panel members and independent assessors as needed. There is no intention to publish an interim report, the finance minister told MLAs.

The public inquiry will investigate:

• The development and roll-out of the scheme by the then Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, under minister Arlene Foster.

• The signing off of the scheme by the then Department of Finance and Personnel.

• Cost controls and tariffs.

• Delays in implementing cost control measures before November 2015 which allowed a spike in the number of applicants that autumn.

• The closure of the scheme in February last year.

Mr O Muilleoir added: “Rest assured, every stone will be turned and there will be no dark corners where the light won’t be shone.”

Mr O Muilleoir added: “I am aware that the RHI issue goes beyond financial matters to questions of governance and probity.

“By getting to the truth of the RHI scandal, this inquiry team led by the distinguished Sir Patrick Coghlin will, I believe, address those wider issues and therefore go some way to rebuilding the shattered public confidence in the institutions.”

An expert in renewable energy and an expert in government accounts are expected to be appointed to help Sir Patrick.

The report must be delivered to the finance minister but Mr O Muilleoir pledged that he or any Sinn Fein successor would immediately publish it once it is received.

He also vowed not to interfere with the judge’s work, saying that if Sir Patrick wanted to add to his terms of reference that would be a matter for him.

The sweeping terms of the inquiry include provision for the judge to “examine the role of ministers, special advisors, Civil Servants, and any others involved in the RHI scheme (including external consultants)”.

The terms also provide for inquiry into “what lobbying occurred, by whom and what implications that had for the delay in the cost controls” in 2015 and then ahead of the scheme fully closing in February 2016.

The inquiry will also examine whether any individual was responsible for “premature disclosure of information”.

And it will investigate the handling of the whistle-blower allegations which involved warnings to Arlene Foster personally, to her department and then to the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister.