Fiasco of the renewable heating initiative devised in 2012 by the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) was the reason for the administration to come crashing down and resulted with the resignation of the deputy first leader of Northern Ireland - Martin McGuinness.
The disastrous scheme offered £1.60 for every £1 spent by farmers and other non-domestic users if they signed up to a scheme to use green energy such as wood pellets, thermal and heat pumps to heat up farms and businesses. It soon has been found, that the scheme was being heavily abused, where one farmer had made £1m from heating an empty shed with one boiler. Some estimates reckon, that this failed scheme will cost the taxpayer around £500m in lost revenue.
The renewable heat incentive (RHI) was set up by Arlene Foster in 2012 when she was enterprise minister at the time and was linked to increased energy consumption from renewable sources. Opposition parties called for an independent inquiry into the fiasco of the scheme and asked Foster as the current Northern Ireland's first minister to temporarily stand down while it is held, although she refused to do so.
McGuinness's resignation was a form of protest to Foster's refusal to stand down. The Social Democratic and Labour party (SDLP) leader, Colum Eastwood, said the allegations of serious wrongdoing were "the biggest public finance scandal in the history of devolution".
