The senior official responsible for setting up the RHI scheme has admitted that she knew at the outset that the subsidy was higher than the cost of biomass fuel – one of the critical flaws which led to a perverse ‘burn to earn’ situation developing. Fiona Hepper – who personally briefed the then minister, Arlene Foster, about the scheme as it was being set up and who was subsequently promoted by the civil service – is the first person involved in the creation of the scheme to state that they knew from before the scheme launched that the tariff was higher than the cost of fuel. However, she told the public inquiry into the scandal that she did not realise that it was a problem because she had a “narrative” in her head which justified the apparent problem with she and her colleagues believing that they had expert advice fr om consultants who had explained that the tariff should cover other costs on top of fuel, such as paying for the boiler and ‘hassle costs’.
The i Newspaper 7th Dec 2017 read more »
