Work in Progress - Northern Ireland Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme: Assessing progress with the implementation of the Public Inquiry recommendations (Second Report)

In January 2017, the Independent Public Inquiry into the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Scheme (the RHI Inquiry) was established. The purpose of the RHI Inquiry was to investigate and report on the RHI scheme and make observations as considered appropriate. In March 2020, the RHI Inquiry published ‘The Report of the Independent Public Inquiry into the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Scheme’ (the Report) which contained 314 findings and 44 recommendations. All findings and recommendations were accepted by the NI Executive. 

Following the Report, the NI Executive established a dedicated sub-committee to oversee the government Inquiry’s findings and recommendations, assisted by the Department of Finance (DoF).

Recommendation 44 made by the RHI Inquiry was that ‘The Inquiry … recommends a role in future for the Northern Ireland Audit Office in assessing and validating the extent of progress in implementing the lessons learned from the NI RHI scheme and implementing those recommendations, including reporting on such progress periodically to the Northern Ireland Assembly and the people of Northern Ireland’. 

In March 2022 the NI Audit Office published its first report examining and summarising progress. 

Among the report’s main findings were that:

• Of the 44 recommendations, 42 related to actions to be taken by the NICS and the Executive. The remaining two recommendations were the responsibility of the NI Assembly and the NIAO. In order to address the recommendations, the Executive sub-committee, supported by DoF, grouped recommendations into seven thematic groupings.
• Three quarters of the recommendations had either been implemented or had arrangements in place for them to be implemented shortly.    
• For the remaining recommendations, not enough action had either been taken or was proposed to sufficiently address the concerns of the RHI Inquiry.
• The most significant progress had been made in relation to the themes of ‘Ministers and Special Advisors’, ‘Professional skills’ and ‘Governance and Financial Controls’.
• Only 18 recommendations could be considered as fully implemented.

A second report, looking at subsequent action and progress, is scheduled to publish in September 2024.