Legal action over cuts to RHI payments will influence cost of closing controversial scheme, Court of Appeal rules 26 April, 2021 17:33
Co Antrim poultry farmer Tom Forgrave
LEGAL action over cuts to Renewable Heat Incentive payments will influence the anticipated multi-million pound cost of closing the scheme, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
Judges held that a case which could determine the amount of compensation for participants should not be put on hold.
The challenge mounted by Co Antrim poultry farmer Tom Forgrave will now be heard before the summer.
The Department for the Economy had secured an adjournment amid public consultation on shutting down the scheme and making total payments of up to £68m.
According to Grant Thornton, DfE had “a series of omissions and missteps” in its calculations.
The proposed lump sum
payout to Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) claimants should rise almost fourfold, a new report has concluded.
Consultants at Grant Thornton have calculated that owners of 99kW boilers should receive £122,927 in compensation if the scheme is shut down early.
It compares to proposals published by the Department for the Economy (DfE) in February which would see most RHI claimants receive either £35,000 or £35,500 for each 99kW boiler.
According to Grant Thornton, DfE have had “a series of omissions and missteps” in calculating compensation rates for scheme participants.
A legal challenge to cuts in Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) payments has been put on hold amid a public consultation on the scheme’s potential shutdown.
Co Antrim poultry farmer Tom Forgrave is seeking to judicially review a decision to slash subsidies for those on the green energy initiative.
But a Stormont Department was granted an adjournment at the High Court after detailing a consultation which could result in closure and the payment of compensation.
Mr Justice Colton said: “It would be wrong of the court to embark on what would be a fairly lengthy, expensive and hotly disputed case in circumstances where the entire landscape may be about to change.”
Two more tranches of EFS confirmed
There will be two more tranches of the Environmental Farming Scheme (EFS) in NI, Agriculture Minister Gordon Lyons has said.
In response to a written question from West Tyrone MLA Declan McAleer, Minister Lyons said that around 5,000 farmers have participated in EFS over the first four tranches.
“Two further tranches are planned, subject to the necessary approvals,” the minister confirmed.
The previous plan within DAERA was that the fourth tranche of EFS, which opened in 2020, would be the final intake of applications.
Unprecedented bird flu risk in NI
The risk that avian influenza poses to the NI poultry sector is “still the highest it has ever been”, Agriculture Minister Gordon Lyons has said.