Flanagan Calls For Calm As Northern Ireland Election Looms

McGuinness’ resignation was down to a huge controversy over the botched Renewable Heating Incentive (RHI) – a scheme to promote the use of renewable energy which has ended up, costing taxpayers US$486 million – which was originally set up by Foster, when she held the energy portfolio.

The party has said it will not nominate a successor.

This year’s crisis could prove to be the most serious since the Good Friday peace agreement was signed in 1998.

He insisted Martin McGuinness’s position as Deputy First Minister was no longer tenable after Foster, the DUP leader, ignored repeated calls for her to step aside while an investigation is carried out into the scheme.

Mr McGuinness cited the Democratic Unionist Party’s (DUP) conduct over the scandal surrounding the RHI scheme as the reason.

“This is vitally important from a political perspective but also fundamental for me on a personal basis”, she said. She also warned that any forthcoming election would be “brutal”. She was the minister responsible for the RHI scheme at its inception. Created to increase the use of renewable energy sources, it worked by offering large incentives to non-domestic customers to build biomass boilers to burn wood pellets: For every £1 spent by those on the scheme, £1.60 was given back.

A move to introduce a tiered payment scheme in 2015 was met by a flurry of applicants trying to get on to the old system before the date set for the changes. No cost controls were put in place and warnings were ignored. Nearly 1,000 applied in three months – around the same number from over the previous three years. Farms and businesses that signed up to the scheme before it was shut down past year get £1.60 from the government for every pound spent on non-fossil fuels, without limit.

The DUP said it would submit to an inquiry but Foster would not step down. Last Wednesday, Foster’s self-defence took an unexpected turn that did little to help her case.

Ms Foster has resisted calls from across the political spectrum to resign, accusing her governing partners of “playing chicken” earlier yesterday.

“The republican leadership had been hearing its grassroots question the viability, credibility and work-ability of the Stormont institutions and openly question the supposed partnership with the DUP”, said veteran Northern Irish journalist Barney Rowan. Sinn Féin will not tolerate the arrogance of Arlene Foster and the DUP.

Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire MP then has what the legislation defines as “a reasonable period” in which to set the date for an election.