NI First Minister rejects call to stand aside over green energy scheme
A green energy scheme set up by Arlene Foster has been called the "biggest public finance scandal since devolution".
Friday 16 December 2016 23:30, UK
Northern Ireland's First Minister Arlene Foster has rejected a call from Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness for her to "stand aside" during an investigation into a flawed green energy scheme.
The Renewable Heat Incentive, set up when Mrs Foster was Enterprise Minister, could end up costing taxpayers £400m in what opposition parties call "the biggest public finance scandal since devolution".
Mr McGuinness telephoned the First Minister to express "serious concern" that the credibility of the devolved government was being undermined by allegations and to call for a full, independent investigation.
He urged her to "stand aside from the role as First Minister while that investigation is under way" or at least until there has been an initial assessment of the allegations.
A spokesman for Mrs Foster, who became Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader exactly one year ago, said: "The First Minister does not take her instructions from Sinn Fein but from the electorate.
"The First Minister will not be stepping aside but instead is focused on ensuring the full facts about this issue emerge and proposals are brought forward which can make a significant reduction in the future financial burden the Executive would face," he added.
The botched scheme had a lack of cost controls and overgenerous incentives resulted in a situation where the more users of green energy burned, the more they earned in subsidies.
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) - who have formed an opposition in the Northern Ireland Assembly - had already called on Mrs Foster to go.
The SDLP will table a motion of no confidence in the First Minister when the Assembly is recalled on Monday to hear a statement on the "cash for ash" scandal.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said: "The Assembly must act to remove the First Minister from office.
"This is a moment to take a stand for a higher standard of politics and higher standards in public office.
Mike Nebitt, leader of the UUP, said: "The very integrity of the institutions is at stake. In terms of our standing in the court of public opinion, we are in the last chance saloon."
The intervention of Mr McGuinness, who shares power with Mrs Foster in the devolved government, takes the crisis to another level.
Without adequate cross-community support, the motion of no confidence will fall, but Sinn Fein support for it would significantly dent Mrs Foster's standing.