Arlene Foster has revealed she made enquiries about whether the introduction of Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) cost controls could be delayed, following representations from a Fermanagh constituent who was fitting RHI boilers.

The revelation is contained in a written statement Mrs. Foster gave to the RHI inquiry ahead of her appearances over the past two weeks before Rt. Hon Sir Patrick Coghlin.

The Fermanagh south Tyrone MLA said she asked if RHI cost controls – which were announced in September 2015 and implemented in November 2015 – could be delayed on behalf of Stephen Harron, who had clients who would not be able to get their boilers fitted before the RHI scheme changed to a lower tariff.

The botched green energy scheme, which was implemented without costs controls, has the potential to cost the public purse up to £490 million over 20 years. The row over how the scheme operated led to Martin McGuinness resigning in January 2017, effectively collapsing the power sharing Executive.

Arlene Foster: Bid to control RHI costs was not ‘burning issue’ in N Ireland

Reference to RHI conversations which took place in Mrs. Foster’s Enniskillen constituency office have not yet been discussed during her oral evidence before the inquiry team.

Instead, the former First Minister has so far been quizzed on issues such as why she signed a declaration in 2012, when she was Minister of DETI (the department responsible for the RHI scheme), which stated: “I have read the Regulatory Impact Assessment and I am satisfied that the benefits outweigh the costs”, despite the document not mentioning costs or explaining how it was value for money. Dr. Keith MacLean, the technical assessor to the inquiry, described Mrs. Foster’s actions in signing a document which had a blank box for the costs as “a blank cheque was being signed off.”

Speaking to the inquiry yesterday (Wednesday), the DUP Leader said officials should have given her more information and the Westminster model should have been followed as it contained “a table of spend.”

She said: “I don’t believe it was a blank cheque at that time” and added that she did not read some technical information associated with the scheme but it was up to others to flag up issues raised by that in their submissions to her.

She described the RHI scandal as “a sorry story” and said she was not aware of the final bill when the scheme was in its formative stages.
Her former Special Advisor Andrew Crawford, who was also giving evidence this week, apologised for leaking a confidential paper which contained detail about cost controls to a relative.

READ: Inquiry head baffled by workings of department behind renewable heat incentive

In Mrs. Foster’s lengthy written statement, she said that she asked the Enterprise Minster’s Special Adviser Timothy Cairns if the cost controls could be delayed on behalf of Stephen Harron, who she first when she was a solicitor in Cooper Wilkinson and he was her client.
Arlene Foster rang Mr. Harron from her Fermanagh constituency office on November 13, 2015. At that stage, she was Minister of Finance and Personnel.

Mrs. Foster’s statement says: “Following a telephone conversation on 13th November 2015 with a constituent, Stephen Harron, I telephoned Timothy Cairns and enquired about the possibility of moving back by a week or so the introduction of the tiered tariffs. However, on being briefed on costing dimensions around such a possibility I accepted matters should proceed as planned.”

When pressed by the inquiry Chairman, Sir Patrick Coghlin, as to the details of the conversation and her relationship with Mr. Harron, Mrs. Foster said: “Mr. Harron had been due to come in to see me at my constituency office but later provided a mobile number for me to ring him, which I did. He told me that he was now working fitting boilers and that he had clients who had ordered boilers that hadn’t yet arrived.  He explained that he would not be able to get these boilers fitted before the Scheme changed and asked me when the Scheme was changing and if anything could be done. 

“He did not mention the names of his clients or the business he worked for. I undertook to enquire on his behalf.” She said she did not know that Mr. Harron worked for Hegan Biomass. 

Asked why she called DETI Minister Jonathan Bell’s Special Advisor, rather than Mr. Bell himself, Mrs. Foster replied: “I didn’t want to bother the Minister with a constituency enquiry. I felt that the Special Adviser would be able to get an answer and get back to me quickly, which he did ... Timothy Cairns went away, asked the question, the answer was no, and I accepted that.”

She told the inquiry that she was not aware of the funding position in relation to the scheme or the extent of the over-spend at the time of contacting the Special Advisor, stating: “If I had been aware, I would not have enquired about the possibility of moving the introduction of tiered tariffs back.”

Arlene Foster: I did not prevent note-taking over flawed green energy scheme

Later, when she was First Minister, Arlene Foster was visited in her constituency office by a constituent, George Gallagher, who left her a note “containing serious allegations.” The contents of the letter prompted her to pass it on to the Head of the Civil Service Malcolm McKibbin.
Her witness statement said: “Sir Malcolm McKibbin escalated the matter quickly, and raised it directly with the DofE Permanent Secretary, Andrew McCormick. I did not consider that there was a need for me to take any further action in relation to the note.”

She also revealed that she asked the DETI Minister to delay the closure of the RHI scheme in 2016 by several weeks.