Now this is an interesting twist in the RHI story, courtesy of Brendan Hughes in the Irish News…
A CHARITIES watchdog is investigating after a green energy group paid to process RHI applications claimed it would have been “ethically improper” to warn Stormont of flaws in the scheme.
Action Renewables *earned almost £250,000 advising on around 550 applications* to the botched Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.
The successful applicants account for about £300 million in taxpayer subsidies committed over 20 years. [Emphasis added]
The chief executive director’s name will be familiar to those who’ve followed the story. Michael Doran’s the guy here, explaining exactly what the flaw in the scheme was, but only after it had blown up in everyone’s faces:
Hughes continues:
…when asked last week why no-one within the charity relayed concerns to the government, he [Doran] told The Irish News: “That’s not what we were employed to do.
“If you’re employed on behalf of a client to make an application it would then be ethically improper to then undermine that application by trying to have it withdrawn.
“The fact that the government created the scheme that some people now think is over incentivised is not our responsibility.”
DUP economy minister Simon Hamilton described the comments as “deeply troubling”, while Alliance’s Stewart Dickson wrote to the Charity Commission calling for an investigation.
Last night the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland confirmed it has “opened a concern” into Action Renewables.
This is definitely one to keep a close eye on, not least because whatever duty the Chief Executive felt he had to his clients and his own business model, where was Action Renewable’s Board in all of this?
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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