I’m tempted to pursue the Stack family case this morning, given the firestorm that the southern media have set blazing around Gerry Adams for not naming the IRA people involved in the Stack affair. I’ll resist that temptation, except to say that if Gerry Adams is being damned for not telling the garda all that he knows about people in the IRA, then they’ll surely have to damn (among others) John Hume, Fr Alex Reid, the Rev Harold Good, Martin McGuinness and whole communities in Derry, West Belfast and South Armagh, because all of those people and groups undoubtedly knew and know the identity of people who were active members of the IRA.
Instead I’ll talk about Arlene Foster and the Heating Scheme. Or rather I’ll ask questions about them. To which I don’t know the answer but you may well do. In which case you might want to consider bringing your information to the PSNI.
- If the scam element of this was so obvious that it could be spotted inside five minutes by an ordinary punter, how would a former solicitor (that’s Arlene) miss it when she looked through it? Not to mention the highly-trained (and highly-paid) civil servants to whom she passed the document for scrutiny?
- Who were the people who participated in this scheme? Since it’s public money – that is, our money – shouldn’t we at least know who’s collecting it?
- Where do the participants in this scheme reside? And to answer “In the north of Ireland” or even “In Northern Ireland” is not to answer at all. Do the recipients cluster in one or two areas in the north? Are they markedly Catholic/Nationalist or Protestant/Unionist? Is there any particular constituency or constituencies?
- Is the supplier of these wood pellets one firm or several? And what sort of profit are they making from the take-up of the scheme? Oh, and if it’s one or two firms, where are they located?
I think there’s enough to be going on with there. My own belief is that Arlene will come through this, with the DUP coalescing around her in a Pretorian guard, and Sinn Féin not putting too much pressure on them. But then again, depending on the answers to that plethora of questions, DUP support and Sinn Féin acquiescence may not be enough.
Jude made a good point on the radio on Friday: why can’t the scheme be stopped?
Who’s in a position to stop it? Arlene? Simon Hamilton? Executive? British government?
There is a very unhealthy relationship between the DUP and business.
Maybe another question for your list, Jude…
Do any of the scheme participants have an association with political parties either through membership or fund raising?
‘Follow the money’ as they say. Who has benefited from this scheme?
Hebron Free Presbyterian Church (of which Mervyn Story is an elder) stands to receive £270,000
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/dup-mla-i-d-no-role-in-270k-church-rhi-boiler-1-7726011
Meryn’s mate (and fellow church elder) Jonathan McAuley will receive £960,000 in RHI grants at his engineering firm
http://www.solmatix.com/case-studies-solmatix/mcauley-engineering-ballymoney/
The brother of Arlene Foster’s special adviser (paid c£85k to help her spot problems such as the RHI disaster) was claiming under RHI scheme
http://www.irishnews.com/news/2016/12/10/news/dup-special-adviser-s-brother-is-among-rhi-claimants-828483/
This shouldn’t be allowed to get swept under the carpet. Foster is one of two things here –
a) Utterly Incompetent
b) Massively Corrupt
Had this occurred anywhere else in the UK, Foster would be gone by now. She shouldn’t be allowed to come through this. This is not a sectarian issue, more a question of good (and honest) governance. If we stand to have anything like ‘normal’ politics here, then this needs to be fully investigated, and heads should roll.
I agree, RJC, and your references are very timely – much thanks. But you do know that you could have Nigel Dodds waiting to replace her? I mean…like..NIGEL DODDS??
“This shouldn’t be allowed to get swept under the carpet. Foster is one of two things here –
a) Utterly Incompetent
b) Massively Corrupt”
I think we all know which one…..
“This is not a sectarian issue, more a question of good (and honest) governance.”
Arlene will be re-elected again RJC, you can be sure of that. A nod in the direction of “them’uns” by the DUP gets them all the votes they need to beat the UUP, unless the UUP can use the bogeyman of nationalism to better effect.
Since this scheme was meant to help the environment by replacing non renewable energy sources with a renewable, surely then those that have heated barns that didn’t need heated are committing a fraud.
As for the DUP and the scent of financial scandal, this must be the 5th or 6th example. This is either pure bad luck (getting caught), poor judgement or just straightforward corruption.
Btw, why do the ‘Nolan Principles on Public Service’ not apply to politicians or their advisors?
I wasn’t aware that Nolan had any principles.
nolan seem to be the only man speaking up for ordinary people.all the other parties are very quite,afraid of upsetting the applecart,and the gravy train coming to a halt.
As Pjdorrian said this is not the only example of a current financial scandal at stormont
There’s the issue of the first and deputy first ministers financing loyalist paramilitaries through a ring-fenced fund that was supposed to alleviate deprivation in poor areas.
There’s also the dreadful delay in releasing the final report of the hyponatraemia inquiry into the deaths of 5 children in hospital and its spiralling costs.
https://eurofree3.wordpress.com/2016/12/11/perfect-storm-breaking-over-stormont/
This is blatant fraud. The scheme should be stopped and all those involved prosecuted.
Sure will be interesting to see the names and connections of the rogues and scoundrels.
NO OSTENTATIOUS STALK
As the wood pellets involve no prelates
From the papes, zilch from our zealots:
Blow hot for truth
Blow cold forsooth
Each South hack all other hacks fellates.
Arlene’s arrogance is outstanding, though I could’ve told you that before this scandal occurred. In any other normal, healthy society Arlene’s political career would be finished and she would resign immediately. But not in dear old Narnia. Arlene is staying put, despite costing us £400 million. I’ll repeat that again: £400 MILLION. Arlene may as well have stacked that cash in a big pile (and it would’ve made a BIG pile), poured petrol over it (paid for by us, of course) and set light to it.
According to the media, that £400 million could’ve built us all a new hospital. It could’ve fast tracked all those waiting for operations and other treatments in the health service. It could’ve made hundreds of new badly needed homes, creating thousands of new jobs in the process. It could’ve completed major road projects, like the one in Derry or in York Street Belfast. It could’ve even built a new, world class sports stadium in Belfast. The Aviva Stadium in Dublin cost around 400-500 million euros to build.
Recently I said that the DUP was brought kicking and screaming into power sharing with nationalists. That’s true but there was many “sweeteners” involved too, those sweeteners were huge salaries, expenses and a blind eye turned to sheer incompetence and even alleged scheming. That goes for not only the DUP but others as well but the DUP really do milk the cow to the verge of death. They not only do this at Stormont but Westminster as well where DUP MP’s topped the expenses list. Yes, out of over 600 MP’s, DUP MP’s claimed the most on expenses…..in 2015 Ian Paisley Jnr claimed nearly £200,000 in expenses….no wonder they love the Union so much…..
At first I thought Arlene’s criminal waste of £400 million was sheer incompetence but then I realized that Arlene is many things but stupid isn’t one of them. Already I read in a newspaper that people connected to the Presbyterian Church were set to benefit from this heating scheme. A number of farmers are set to gain a lot of money from this. On the Nolan show it was confirmed that one farmer is set to gain over 1 MILLION pounds for heating an empty Barn, even the poor animals didn’t benefit from some warmth…..who are these people? are they related to any Unionist politician? are they members of Unionist political parties? are they connected in any way to the Orange Order and its Ulster Land Fund?….
Needless to say there should be an investigation into all this. The fact Sinn Fein wont push too hard against the DUP in this matter speaks volumes. As I said, there’s more than one political party suckling on the cows teat.
The Peace Process isn’t genuine, even a blind man can see that but it is sustained by money, not money for the poor in both communities but for the people at the top. Its like the Trickle Down Theory in economics, when the guys at the top (paramilitaries, politicians, etc) are took care of, the crumbs left over are given to both communities….
“The fact Sinn Fein wont push too hard against the DUP in this matter speaks volumes. As I said, there’s more than one political party suckling on the cows teat. ”
You do realise that Sinn Fein is a 32 county party Ryan?
Do you ever think you are looking at the peace process from inside a 6 county bubble?
“You do realise that Sinn Fein is a 32 county party Ryan?
Do you ever think you are looking at the peace process from inside a 6 county bubble?”
You know full well that I know SF is a 32 county party Jessica, so why ask questions you already know the answer to?
Well last time I looked Jessica its the people of the 6 counties, both Unionist and Nationalist, that have the most involvement in the peace process, and have the most to lose if it fails. As you like to comment on often, the people of the South largely don’t care about the peace process, nor do the people of Britain. Both couldn’t give a hoot, in truth. Many of the issues in the North can only be sorted out by people in the North, not in Britain or in the South.
I think your issue is Jessica that you didn’t like the fact I criticized Sinn Fein. The truth is they deserve to be criticized. Judging by your recent comments to other republicans on this blog, especially those who oppose Sinn Fein, you seem to think Sinn Fein are as pure as the driven snow. The truth is if they didn’t have their wages or their community grants they would crash Stormont tomorrow morning. Even Martin McGuinness hinted that if EU funding stops violence could erupt again. If you think every republican in SF are only dedicated to Irish Unity and money plays no part then you have to give yourself a shake. I’m not saying they’re all like that but I think some have grew accustomed to the lifestyle they have gained since 1998 just like many in the DUP have….
Money pacifies both sides Jessica. The issue is what happens when the money dries up….
Totally the opposite Ryan, the problems in the north simply cannot be sorted out without the involvement of both states.
If it weren’t for Sinn Fein we would not have made it this far.
Name one single problem here that was sorted out without the two states direct involvement?
You said yourself unionists only bought into the GFA thanks to Clinton saying they would become irrelevant and the british saying the alternative was joint rule.
And yes, my issue is us being so inadequate and institutionalised that we see this as a 6 county problem that we have to sort out ourselves and for being so stupid as to attack one another for being left to deal with an impossible to resolve problem rather than look to those who have the responsibility as well as the capability to resolve these issues.
We are being treated like fools.
Can the people in the north force britain to release the truth and evidence about their role in the conflict do you think?
Do you not think Dublin could do a bit more in trying to get that evidence released?
We have a shared history filled with conflict, many of the unionist fears were caused by actions in the south, not least the 1966 rising commemorations which allowed people like Paisley to whip up fears and bring so many protestants onto the streets which allowed the violence to erupt.
To leave us to deal with the consequences on our own and then have the neck to see us as undesirables in our own country is not something I find easy to take.
And as for attacking Sinn Fein for sucking the cows teat. How do you think the brilliant young talented people they have in the south will feel about that?
Bear in mind there is not one other single party interested in resolving any of these issues, not one.
I am glad Sinn Fein dropped the industrial wage, they deserve their wages same as anyone else. Ireland will never be a communist state if that is what you want. In fact communist parties in other parts of the world seem to do ok also.
As for the money drying up. Why do you think Sinn Fein and the DUP are flying all over the world to bring in foreign investment?
Do you think we are going to be a charity case forever?
The truth is, britain cannot leave here until we can afford to stand on our own two feet and the south doesn’t want us until we can afford to stand on our own two feet and Sinn Fein is doing all it can to make sure we can afford to stand on our own two feet as soon as possible.
It wasn’t long ago that I wanted Stormont brought down, but follow that through and tell me how you see that one playing out.
“Do you ever think you are looking at the peace process from inside a 6 county bubble”
Don’t we already have peace?
“Don’t we already have peace?”
The previous conflict is definitely over but I don’t think we should take peace for granted.
“The previous conflict is definitely over but I don’t think we should take peace for granted.:
Didn’t the ‘peace process’ relate to the previous conflict?
From what I hear,the unionist community were overwhelmingly the beneficiaries of this scheme.
“From what I hear”
Must be true, then.
But if the scheme can’t be closed, surely it could be extended?
Is there not a element of doublethink here?If this happened in the South,Mary Lou and her cohorts would be jumping up and down,screaming for the resignations of relevant ministers.But up north,Sinn Fein reaction seems relatively restrained and ritualistic.It appears that the trappings of power are more important than calling the First Minister to proper account.Marlene rules-OK???
correct argenta,..there is no reason why sf cant make them an offer,arlene resigns now or we walk and close the shop up.its better off closed anyway with some of the dunces thats knocking about the corridors ant the free canteen.
“If this happened in the South,”
You mean a paltry 400 million compared to the 19 billion squandered by the Fine Gael, FIanna Fail time share coalition as a gift to Apple?
Jessica
I’m glad you think that £400 million is a relatively trifling amount.Most taxpayers in the North would disagree with you and would feel that someone should be held to account for the maladministration in Arlenes then Department.My point was that Sinn Fein don’t seem to be in the forefront of those calling for such account.The contrast with their strident calls in the South over wastage of public money is glaringly obvious!
I was being sarcastic Argenta.
Of course I think Arlene should indeed be held to account and potentially criminal charges brought to individuals if looks as though there was fraud and misappropriation of public money going on.
Similar in the south. There needs to be a lot more scrutiny of how public money is being squandered. There isn’t a more wasteful country in the EU than Ireland in squandering public money. Seems like both parts of the country have that in common.
The point I was making was that the wasting of tax payers money is not only also going on south of the border but in significantly larger sums.
It certainly looks as though public servants have either cashed in on this heating scheme or are too incompetent to retain their jobs.
The fact that there was a misconception that it was coming out of the London purse and not the block grant I feel played a part.
I don’t know how far into the DUP if at all it goes, but it certainly needs to be explored.
Sinn Fein have said Arlene should break protocol and face the public committee whatever it is called to explain exactly how this happened.
It is now up to the DUP as to whether or not they have anything to hide. The public should judge them on their decision and not on Sinn Feins decision over whether to allow them make the choice for themselves or bring Stormont down over it.
I would rather it was treated seriously right the way through to a criminal investigation if needed.
It is bigger than political point scoring, just as the squander of billions in the republic and bringing our reputation as a dodgy tax deal state at the expense of our own people is also.
Yes MT,the civil service here leaks like a sieve.
Apparently at least one company has been touting for clients to join this scheme.
‘Sign here, giving us authority to act on your behalf’ and this company looked after all paperwork, applications, planning matters, installation, and supply of the wood pellets, for a share of the profits.
And yes, it was sold on the basis of profits, provided the burners were run 24/7 x 365, with a 20 year contract.
Is it normal for private companies to act as agents for government schemes, and would there be any political connections to such companies?
I can’t see Arlene being nailed for this somehow.
Perhaps more will come out linking her directly to deliberate wrongdoing but so far that is not clear.
It is the usual story when responsibility is dodged and if civil servants can be shown to have mismanaged the scheme then a scapegoat will be found.
My money is on that Crawford fellow at present but that could change.
Sinn Fein are very quiet on this so far.
I don’t agree with Jude’s thoughts about the Stack case.
Those he lists, John Hume, Fr Alex Reid, the Rev Harold Good, and Martin McGuinness were not at the meeting with the Stacks but if they had been the Stacks would be entitled to ask them to pass on the names of those involved. Why try to dodge that obvious point?
“I don’t agree with Jude’s thoughts about the Stack case.
Those he lists, John Hume, Fr Alex Reid, the Rev Harold Good, and Martin McGuinness were not at the meeting with the Stacks but if they had been the Stacks would be entitled to ask them to pass on the names of those involved. Why try to dodge that obvious point?”
Your missing the obvious point that there was many other killings carried out apart from the Stack case Gio. John Hume, Fr Reid, Rev Good, etc met senior members of the IRA who had a part in maybe hundreds of killings. So why didn’t the media/politicians demand Hume, Reid, Good, etc reveal the identity of these IRA members and alert the police? Why don’t they demand Mike Nesbitt give the names of the UVF/UDA members he sat with when he said he was trying to “bring them towards peace”? Why didn’t they ask the same of David McNarry when he sat with UVF/UDA members for 18 months to set up the new “Loyalist Community Council”? Not to mention the UVF/UDA being illegal terrorist groups, they’re also drug dealers, racketeers, killers, etc. So obviously they should be jailed in order to protect society.
That’s the hypocrisy Jude is pointing out.
Ryan
You are also dodging.
This Austin Stack character claimed in the Irish Independent 26 JUL 09 THAT HIS FATHER WAS KILLED BECAUSE “HE DISCOVERED SOMETHING THAT WOULD ROCK THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE STATE” Anything he says should be taken with a pinch of salt.
You do realise that Austin Stack has put his name forward as a candidate for Fianna Fail in the next elections, so he is trying to make his political reputation over the body of his dead father!
You do realise that Austin Stack has put his name forward as a candidate for Fianna Fail in the next elections so he is trying to make his political reputation over the body of his dead father!
Sherdy
That is a disgraceful comment and you ought to be ashamed of yourself.
I have no doubt Jude will let it stand.
Austin Stack is entitled to stand for election just like anyone else.
People do it for all sorts of reasons. Perhaps his father’s murder led him to be more interested in the world of politics than he might otherwise have been.
You might as well say that Gerry Adams has tried to make a political career over the bodies of the victims of the PIRA.
There is remarkable calm amongst the commentariat regarding the squandering of 400 million.
It is hard to imagine any other party receiving such gentle treatment from the press.
you can bet the chinese were laughing up their sleeve at big arlene over trying to mooch a few oul call centre jobs 50bob an hour or whatever,and her after smoking 400million yoyos.mr trump might have something to say on st.patricks day if any of them try and tap him for a few quid.no,they have proved their not fit for purpose its time to pull the curtain down on the circus on the hill.
A, wholly non-pc, thought struck me this AM.
Just what is the BBC agenda in pushing agin their status quo?
I am no fan of DUP, nor her previous political party but, is there any chance the rational for this push, regardless of right or wrong, is connected to the ‘sexuality’ prevalant in the BBC in Belfast?
The sexuality prevalent in the BBC?
Let’s hear it then. Spare no detail!
the bbc seem to be doing more than sf and the opposition put together.