:00:09. > :00:11.The Ulster Farmers Union warned Stormont of a potential
:00:12. > :00:13.spike in applications for the Renewable Heat Incentive
:00:14. > :00:19.The information emerged as Sinn Fein threatened to trigger
:00:20. > :00:21.an Assembly election unless the First Minister Arlene
:00:22. > :00:24.Foster steps aside to allow an investigation into the scheme -
:00:25. > :00:31.a scheme which she introduced as Enterprise Minister.
:00:32. > :00:33.The DUP say Mrs Foster is going nowhere.
:00:34. > :00:44.Here's our political correspondent, Gareth Gordon.
:00:45. > :00:49.Stormont's Christmas trees stand there and exports. Soon, it will be
:00:50. > :00:53.taken down, a possible sign of things to come for the building it
:00:54. > :00:57.dawns. A political rift over something so seemingly mundane as a
:00:58. > :01:02.renewable heating scheme has come to this. One of the Executive parties
:01:03. > :01:06.threatening the other that it will bring down the institutions is the
:01:07. > :01:09.First Minister steps aside. Sinn Fein have been very consistent about
:01:10. > :01:13.what needs to happen. If full investigation, stopping the flow of
:01:14. > :01:16.money, Arlene Foster standing aside. Whenever we tabled a motion, we were
:01:17. > :01:21.very clear about what needs to happen next. If the crisis itself
:01:22. > :01:25.leads to elections, so be it. As of now, Arlene Foster is not for
:01:26. > :01:31.turning. She is a good First Minister. She is effective First
:01:32. > :01:34.Minister. She is a good Unionist leader and you can understand why
:01:35. > :01:38.Sinn Fein might want rid of her, but she is not going anywhere. In the
:01:39. > :01:43.context of biomass boilers, that is what is cold meeting fire with fire.
:01:44. > :01:47.A snap election would be liked and the unknown for all of the parties,
:01:48. > :01:51.made even more unpredictable because, for the first time, voters
:01:52. > :01:55.will be electing only five MLAs per constituency instead of the current
:01:56. > :02:02.six. For now, other parties can only stand back and wonder. I do not know
:02:03. > :02:05.what is going to happen. The ball certainly rests with Sinn Fein in
:02:06. > :02:09.terms of they have the power that nobody else has to bring down the
:02:10. > :02:14.institutions and for an election Mrs Foster has it in her gift to stand
:02:15. > :02:17.aside and take the leadership role in starting to restore public
:02:18. > :02:21.confidence in the integrity of Stormont. An election or not serve
:02:22. > :02:25.this crisis, because day one after the election when we come back up
:02:26. > :02:28.here and sign back into the Assembly, they RHI scandal will
:02:29. > :02:32.still need to be resolved. There will still need to be a public
:02:33. > :02:35.inquiry and we will still need to find some kind of solution to try to
:02:36. > :02:38.limit the damage that is going to be done. A journalist who has done much
:02:39. > :02:42.to uncover this murky story's secrets believe that talk of an
:02:43. > :02:45.election is a distraction. There is a possibility that Martin McGuinness
:02:46. > :02:48.could resign as typically First Minister, immediately putting Arlene
:02:49. > :02:54.Foster out of office. They could then insist that the DUP have a week
:02:55. > :02:57.in which to replace her with likes Simon Hammond won for four weeks. If
:02:58. > :03:02.that did not happen, the choice would be the DUP's to go for
:03:03. > :03:04.election. -- Simon Hamilton. Stormont as smouldering but not yet
:03:05. > :03:05.up in flames. I've been hearing more
:03:06. > :03:07.about the Ulster Farmers Union's intervention in the controversy,
:03:08. > :03:18.from our political correspondent, We know the critical phase in this
:03:19. > :03:21.crisis became between the 1st of October 2015 and the middle of
:03:22. > :03:25.November that same year. That was the period whenever we had this as I
:03:26. > :03:29.and applications, when almost 900 people applied to this particular
:03:30. > :03:35.scheme, 50% of the overall number that cashed in. It was that period
:03:36. > :03:39.that we went past limit, pushed the costs so far and it has left us with
:03:40. > :03:45.this bill of over ?400 million. We have learned today that the Ulster
:03:46. > :03:48.farmers union had warned Department officials from three months prior to
:03:49. > :03:52.that date that this spike was looming, that it was on the cards
:03:53. > :03:55.and that was going to be a surge in applications. That raises some
:03:56. > :03:59.serious questions. If it was not within the industry that was
:04:00. > :04:02.happening, why were steps not taken within the department to ensure that
:04:03. > :04:05.cost controls were put in place and we would not be in the mess we're in
:04:06. > :04:18.now? And if the then Minister was aware of this warning from the
:04:19. > :04:21.Ulster farmers union, union, why did he not take steps to ensure that we
:04:22. > :04:23.would not be facing the status that we are facing right now? All of
:04:24. > :04:24.these questions, I am sure, will feature if we get this investigation
:04:25. > :04:26.the parties all agree we now need. Belfast City Council has passed
:04:27. > :04:29.a motion calling for a full public inquiry into the handling
:04:30. > :04:31.of the Renewable Heat Incentive. The motion further calls
:04:32. > :04:33.on the First Minister Arlene Foster to step aside whilst
:04:34. > :04:48.the inquiry takes place. From the independent counsel Ruth
:04:49. > :04:52.Patterson, formerly of the DUP, a call for a full public inquiry into
:04:53. > :04:55.the handling of the RHI scheme, and for the First Minister Arlene Foster
:04:56. > :05:01.to step aside during it. The secretary of state of the public
:05:02. > :05:04.responsibility to initiate and inquiry regarding this. Public
:05:05. > :05:08.confidence in Northern Ireland has been severely damaged because of
:05:09. > :05:11.of the biggest scandals that we have of the biggest scandals that we have
:05:12. > :05:15.had for some considerable time and we need to get the truth and we need
:05:16. > :05:18.to get justice for the people of Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein failed
:05:19. > :05:22.to amend the motion to call not for a full public inquiry but for an
:05:23. > :05:26.independent inquiry led by a judicial figure from outside
:05:27. > :05:29.Northern Ireland. We think the public want the truth but they also
:05:30. > :05:32.wanted as quickly as possible. They did not want to wait a year or two
:05:33. > :05:38.like some of these public inquiries can take, so we think the best way
:05:39. > :05:43.to do this is a robust, transparent investigation that will get to the
:05:44. > :05:47.truth quickly. And unsuccessful Ulster Unionist Party Amendment even
:05:48. > :05:51.cold for Arlene Foster to resign. It was predictable that the amount of
:05:52. > :05:54.party games being played here, it is clear that they are not interested
:05:55. > :05:57.in solving the problems that RHI, which would should be trying to move
:05:58. > :06:01.forward, they're not interested in getting towards an independent
:06:02. > :06:05.investigation, just trying to find ways of having a go at the DUP and
:06:06. > :06:09.undermining the First Minister Arlene Foster. The councillors voted
:06:10. > :06:12.to take this step have said they are simply responding to growing public
:06:13. > :06:16.concern about the handling of the RHI scheme. And to the public's lack
:06:17. > :06:19.of confidence in the Stormont institutions.
:06:20. > :06:21.The Communities Minister, Paul Givan of the DUP,
:06:22. > :06:23.has been accused of blatantly discriminating against
:06:24. > :06:26.Just a couple of days before Christmas he decided to withdraw
:06:27. > :06:28.funding for a bursary scheme as our education correspondent
:06:29. > :06:48.The programme known as Liofa, the Irish word for fluent, was set up to
:06:49. > :06:51.encourage people to learn the Irish language. A bursary scheme worth
:06:52. > :06:55.?50,000 per year enabled up to 100 people to spend time at language
:06:56. > :07:00.skills every summer. But those schools received an e-mail in Irish
:07:01. > :07:02.from the Department for the two that lunchtime on the 23rd of December.
:07:03. > :07:18.Translated, it said, bluntly... The message, and its timing, caused
:07:19. > :07:21.anger. We are calling on the Minister to explain the motivations
:07:22. > :07:24.behind this decision. We are calling on him to review his decision and
:07:25. > :07:27.ultimately reverse what can only be described as a blatant and
:07:28. > :07:31.deliberate attack on the Irish language and its learners. So, do
:07:32. > :07:35.you think this was a political decision as much of a financial one?
:07:36. > :07:43.The December summit decision came at the end of a highly political week
:07:44. > :07:46.at Stormont. We are calling on the Minister himself to explain if it
:07:47. > :07:49.was a political or economic decision. We are calling on him to
:07:50. > :07:51.fully explain is motivations. There has been strong political reaction.
:07:52. > :07:54.The SDLP said it would challenge the decision, whilst Naomi Long
:07:55. > :07:58.described it as petty. Sinn Fein also want answers from the
:07:59. > :08:00.Executive. When you look at the broader political followed,
:08:01. > :08:05.departmental spending and budgets, ?50,000 annually for what is in such
:08:06. > :08:10.a cause and such a beneficial scheme for young people, I think the
:08:11. > :08:14.Minister needs to be very forthright and open and come out and tell us
:08:15. > :08:19.what his Russian has been for cutting this modest sum of money. --
:08:20. > :08:22.what his rationale has been. The communities minister was not
:08:23. > :08:24.available for interview. The money may be relatively small, but it has
:08:25. > :08:27.provoked widespread and reaction. A former police officer
:08:28. > :08:30.from Carrickfergus is among a group of Chelsea football fans who've been
:08:31. > :08:32.given a suspended one year jail 52-year-old Richard Barklie,
:08:33. > :08:39.who was tried in his absence, is one of four men who were found
:08:40. > :08:43.guilty of racially abusing a man at an underground station
:08:44. > :08:46.as football fans travelled to a match in the city
:08:47. > :08:49.in February 2015. The men were also ordered to pay
:08:50. > :08:53.the victim ten thousand Pressures over Christmas on hospital
:08:54. > :08:59.emergency departments led to hundreds of people waiting more
:09:00. > :09:01.than twelve hours to be treated, The official target is for no-one
:09:02. > :09:10.to wait that length of time. But in the nine days
:09:11. > :09:13.from the Christmas Eve to Monday the second of January,
:09:14. > :09:15.462 patients had to wait The worst numbers were in
:09:16. > :09:21.Antrim Area Hospital, where 165 people waited
:09:22. > :09:24.for 12 hours. 94 patients waited the same period
:09:25. > :09:29.of time at the Ulster. At the Royal Victoria 28 people had
:09:30. > :09:36.to wait over 12 hours. George Best Belfast City Airport
:09:37. > :09:39.is to be allowed to increase the number of seats it can sell
:09:40. > :09:42.per year on departing flights. Residents groups in east Belfast
:09:43. > :09:45.have fought the move for 12 years, fearing it will lead
:09:46. > :09:47.to a busier, noisier airport. Our business correspondent
:09:48. > :10:01.Julian O'Neill reports. Kate Ingram is about four miles from
:10:02. > :10:05.Belfast City Airport, but under a flight path she says life is not
:10:06. > :10:09.always as peaceful as it seems. I like to sleep with the window open
:10:10. > :10:15.and in the morning, the first plane goes by at about 6:45am,. So, that
:10:16. > :10:20.is it, you're a week that time, even if you've fancied a lie in. You have
:10:21. > :10:23.not got a hope. Residents groups have been worried about the impact
:10:24. > :10:29.of the busier airport and fought to keep a limit on seeds for sale at a
:10:30. > :10:32.public inquiry at 2014. Adopting the inquiry's recommendations, Minister
:10:33. > :10:36.Chris Hazzard is now set to review the removal of the seats cap. It has
:10:37. > :10:40.been set at 2 million departure seats per year. The restrictions
:10:41. > :10:45.will will be replaced by new noise controls. This will limit high
:10:46. > :10:51.levels of noise to within a zone of just over five kilometres. The
:10:52. > :10:54.airport was looking for much more liberal noise control and we wanted,
:10:55. > :10:58.which would have affected many more people. What the minister has said
:10:59. > :11:04.if yes, I will remove the seeds for sale cap but in addition to that we
:11:05. > :11:06.are going to implement the additional public inquiry
:11:07. > :11:10.recommendations, meaning tougher noise controls than the airport was
:11:11. > :11:15.seeking. The airport was in breach of the seats cap restriction years
:11:16. > :11:20.ago when it tad RyanAir. But not in more recent times. It has not
:11:21. > :11:24.commented on this latest move, and outcome 12 years and three judicial
:11:25. > :11:26.reviews in the making. But it has seen the cap as technically a
:11:27. > :11:31.hindrance to choosing new business. In tonight's football,
:11:32. > :11:33.league leaders Crusaders beat Ards Linfield went down one-nil
:11:34. > :11:36.against Coleraine. There were also wins
:11:37. > :11:38.for Glenavon and Glentoran, while Cliftonville and Dungannon
:11:39. > :11:57.both drew their home matches. Good evening. The weather so fairly
:11:58. > :12:00.settled at the moment. Not the sparkling function of yesterday. A
:12:01. > :12:03.lot more cloud around today, and that is how we are going into
:12:04. > :12:06.tonight. A bit of a breeze around the coast but mainly dry to begin
:12:07. > :12:09.with. Later in the night, a weak weather front approaches from the
:12:10. > :12:17.north-east, bringing a narrowing band of rain into some northern and
:12:18. > :12:19.eastern areas. Staying dry towards the Saudis. His clouds cover,
:12:20. > :12:22.frost-free. Temperatures between four and 6 degrees. Tomorrow, things
:12:23. > :12:27.eventually cheer up but we will still have that week weather front
:12:28. > :12:31.around so a cloudy morning, with patchy rain working its way
:12:32. > :12:35.southwards and westwards. Moving into parts of the Republic and part
:12:36. > :12:39.of Wales, the size of England, into the South West. That rain breaking
:12:40. > :12:43.up all there. A milder day than today. Elsewhere, after a frosty
:12:44. > :12:46.start, plenty of sunshine coming through but it is going to be
:12:47. > :12:51.chillier, particularly along those North East ghosts. If few showers
:12:52. > :12:54.running in and a brisk northerly wind, but eventually seeing some
:12:55. > :12:58.sunshine. Come back to Northern Ireland for the afternoon and it is
:12:59. > :13:02.mainly dry. Variable cloud but brightening up from the north-east.
:13:03. > :13:08.The best of probably in these areas. Highs of around seven or 8 degrees
:13:09. > :13:11.and that breeze using them. Frosty tomorrow night, Thursday mainly dry
:13:12. > :13:16.under high pressure but a change over a night. Rain coming in and
:13:17. > :13:18.quite brisk winds. Once it clears out of the way on Friday, drier,
:13:19. > :13:20.fairly cloudy but milder as well. Our next BBC Newsline
:13:21. > :13:25.is at 6:25 in the morning