Northern Ireland Non-Domestic RHI Scheme: Progressing implementation of the Public Inquiry recommendations - 2nd Report

This report summarises progress against 42 recommendations (organised into seven thematic groupings) made by the Inquiry in March 2020. The report fulfils the Inquiry’s recommendation that the NI Audit Office (NIAO) assesses and validates progress in implementing the lessons learned from the RHI Scheme, and that it reports on such progress periodically. A previous NIAO progress report was published in June 2022.

Today’s report finds that, out of the 42 recommendations, a total of 26 have been implemented, with a further 11 likely to be implemented in the future. It observes that, while NI Departments have undoubtedly made progress since the NIAO’s previous assessment, the overall pace of implementation has been slow. More than four and a half years since the Inquiry’s recommendations were published, 16 have still not been fully implemented. Furthermore, planned actions by NI Departments in relation to five recommendations are unlikely to fully address the Inquiry’s concerns. In the case of two of these, the status has regressed since 2022.