03/01/2017 BBC Newsline

The Ulster Farmers Union warned Stormont of a potential

spike in applications for the Renewable Heat Incentive

The information emerged as Sinn Fein threatened to trigger

an Assembly election unless the First Minister Arlene

Foster steps aside to allow an investigation into the scheme -

a scheme which she introduced as Enterprise Minister.

The DUP say Mrs Foster is going nowhere.

Here's our political correspondent, Gareth Gordon.

Stormont's Christmas trees stand there and exports. Soon, it will be

taken down, a possible sign of things to come for the building it

dawns. A political rift over something so seemingly mundane as a

renewable heating scheme has come to this. One of the Executive parties

threatening the other that it will bring down the institutions is the

First Minister steps aside. Sinn Fein have been very consistent about

what needs to happen. If full investigation, stopping the flow of

money, Arlene Foster standing aside. Whenever we tabled a motion, we were

very clear about what needs to happen next. If the crisis itself

leads to elections, so be it. As of now, Arlene Foster is not for

turning. She is a good First Minister. She is effective First

Minister. She is a good Unionist leader and you can understand why

Sinn Fein might want rid of her, but she is not going anywhere. In the

context of biomass boilers, that is what is cold meeting fire with fire.

A snap election would be liked and the unknown for all of the parties,

made even more unpredictable because, for the first time, voters

will be electing only five MLAs per constituency instead of the current

six. For now, other parties can only stand back and wonder. I do not know

what is going to happen. The ball certainly rests with Sinn Fein in

terms of they have the power that nobody else has to bring down the

institutions and for an election Mrs Foster has it in her gift to stand

aside and take the leadership role in starting to restore public

confidence in the integrity of Stormont. An election or not serve

this crisis, because day one after the election when we come back up

here and sign back into the Assembly, they RHI scandal will

still need to be resolved. There will still need to be a public

inquiry and we will still need to find some kind of solution to try to

limit the damage that is going to be done. A journalist who has done much

to uncover this murky story's secrets believe that talk of an

election is a distraction. There is a possibility that Martin McGuinness

could resign as typically First Minister, immediately putting Arlene

Foster out of office. They could then insist that the DUP have a week

in which to replace her with likes Simon Hammond won for four weeks. If

that did not happen, the choice would be the DUP's to go for

election. -- Simon Hamilton. Stormont as smouldering but not yet

up in flames. I've been hearing more

about the Ulster Farmers Union's intervention in the controversy,

from our political correspondent, We know the critical phase in this

crisis became between the 1st of October 2015 and the middle of

November that same year. That was the period whenever we had this as I

and applications, when almost 900 people applied to this particular

scheme, 50% of the overall number that cashed in. It was that period

that we went past limit, pushed the costs so far and it has left us with

this bill of over ?400 million. We have learned today that the Ulster

farmers union had warned Department officials from three months prior to

that date that this spike was looming, that it was on the cards

and that was going to be a surge in applications. That raises some

serious questions. If it was not within the industry that was

happening, why were steps not taken within the department to ensure that

cost controls were put in place and we would not be in the mess we're in

now? And if the then Minister was aware of this warning from the

Ulster farmers union, union, why did he not take steps to ensure that we

would not be facing the status that we are facing right now? All of

these questions, I am sure, will feature if we get this investigation

the parties all agree we now need. Belfast City Council has passed

a motion calling for a full public inquiry into the handling

of the Renewable Heat Incentive. The motion further calls

on the First Minister Arlene Foster to step aside whilst

the inquiry takes place. From the independent counsel Ruth

Patterson, formerly of the DUP, a call for a full public inquiry into

the handling of the RHI scheme, and for the First Minister Arlene Foster

to step aside during it. The secretary of state of the public

responsibility to initiate and inquiry regarding this. Public

confidence in Northern Ireland has been severely damaged because of

of the biggest scandals that we have of the biggest scandals that we have

had for some considerable time and we need to get the truth and we need

to get justice for the people of Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein failed

to amend the motion to call not for a full public inquiry but for an

independent inquiry led by a judicial figure from outside

Northern Ireland. We think the public want the truth but they also

wanted as quickly as possible. They did not want to wait a year or two

like some of these public inquiries can take, so we think the best way

to do this is a robust, transparent investigation that will get to the

truth quickly. And unsuccessful Ulster Unionist Party Amendment even

cold for Arlene Foster to resign. It was predictable that the amount of

party games being played here, it is clear that they are not interested

in solving the problems that RHI, which would should be trying to move

forward, they're not interested in getting towards an independent

investigation, just trying to find ways of having a go at the DUP and

undermining the First Minister Arlene Foster. The councillors voted

to take this step have said they are simply responding to growing public

concern about the handling of the RHI scheme. And to the public's lack

of confidence in the Stormont institutions.

The Communities Minister, Paul Givan of the DUP,

has been accused of blatantly discriminating against

Just a couple of days before Christmas he decided to withdraw

funding for a bursary scheme as our education correspondent

The programme known as Liofa, the Irish word for fluent, was set up to

encourage people to learn the Irish language. A bursary scheme worth

?50,000 per year enabled up to 100 people to spend time at language

skills every summer. But those schools received an e-mail in Irish

from the Department for the two that lunchtime on the 23rd of December.

Translated, it said, bluntly... The message, and its timing, caused

anger. We are calling on the Minister to explain the motivations

behind this decision. We are calling on him to review his decision and

ultimately reverse what can only be described as a blatant and

deliberate attack on the Irish language and its learners. So, do

you think this was a political decision as much of a financial one?

The December summit decision came at the end of a highly political week

at Stormont. We are calling on the Minister himself to explain if it

was a political or economic decision. We are calling on him to

fully explain is motivations. There has been strong political reaction.

The SDLP said it would challenge the decision, whilst Naomi Long

described it as petty. Sinn Fein also want answers from the

Executive. When you look at the broader political followed,

departmental spending and budgets, ?50,000 annually for what is in such

a cause and such a beneficial scheme for young people, I think the

Minister needs to be very forthright and open and come out and tell us

what his Russian has been for cutting this modest sum of money. --

what his rationale has been. The communities minister was not

available for interview. The money may be relatively small, but it has

provoked widespread and reaction. A former police officer

from Carrickfergus is among a group of Chelsea football fans who've been

given a suspended one year jail 52-year-old Richard Barklie,

who was tried in his absence, is one of four men who were found

guilty of racially abusing a man at an underground station

as football fans travelled to a match in the city

in February 2015. The men were also ordered to pay

the victim ten thousand Pressures over Christmas on hospital

emergency departments led to hundreds of people waiting more

than twelve hours to be treated, The official target is for no-one

to wait that length of time. But in the nine days

from the Christmas Eve to Monday the second of January,

462 patients had to wait The worst numbers were in

Antrim Area Hospital, where 165 people waited

for 12 hours. 94 patients waited the same period

of time at the Ulster. At the Royal Victoria 28 people had

to wait over 12 hours. George Best Belfast City Airport

is to be allowed to increase the number of seats it can sell

per year on departing flights. Residents groups in east Belfast

have fought the move for 12 years, fearing it will lead

to a busier, noisier airport. Our business correspondent

Julian O'Neill reports. Kate Ingram is about four miles from

Belfast City Airport, but under a flight path she says life is not

always as peaceful as it seems. I like to sleep with the window open

and in the morning, the first plane goes by at about 6:45am,. So, that

is it, you're a week that time, even if you've fancied a lie in. You have

not got a hope. Residents groups have been worried about the impact

of the busier airport and fought to keep a limit on seeds for sale at a

public inquiry at 2014. Adopting the inquiry's recommendations, Minister

Chris Hazzard is now set to review the removal of the seats cap. It has

been set at 2 million departure seats per year. The restrictions

will will be replaced by new noise controls. This will limit high

levels of noise to within a zone of just over five kilometres. The

airport was looking for much more liberal noise control and we wanted,

which would have affected many more people. What the minister has said

if yes, I will remove the seeds for sale cap but in addition to that we

are going to implement the additional public inquiry

recommendations, meaning tougher noise controls than the airport was

seeking. The airport was in breach of the seats cap restriction years

ago when it tad RyanAir. But not in more recent times. It has not

commented on this latest move, and outcome 12 years and three judicial

reviews in the making. But it has seen the cap as technically a

hindrance to choosing new business. In tonight's football,

league leaders Crusaders beat Ards Linfield went down one-nil

against Coleraine. There were also wins

for Glenavon and Glentoran, while Cliftonville and Dungannon

both drew their home matches. Good evening. The weather so fairly

settled at the moment. Not the sparkling function of yesterday. A

lot more cloud around today, and that is how we are going into

tonight. A bit of a breeze around the coast but mainly dry to begin

with. Later in the night, a weak weather front approaches from the

north-east, bringing a narrowing band of rain into some northern and

eastern areas. Staying dry towards the Saudis. His clouds cover,

frost-free. Temperatures between four and 6 degrees. Tomorrow, things

eventually cheer up but we will still have that week weather front

around so a cloudy morning, with patchy rain working its way

southwards and westwards. Moving into parts of the Republic and part

of Wales, the size of England, into the South West. That rain breaking

up all there. A milder day than today. Elsewhere, after a frosty

start, plenty of sunshine coming through but it is going to be

chillier, particularly along those North East ghosts. If few showers

running in and a brisk northerly wind, but eventually seeing some

sunshine. Come back to Northern Ireland for the afternoon and it is

mainly dry. Variable cloud but brightening up from the north-east.

The best of probably in these areas. Highs of around seven or 8 degrees

and that breeze using them. Frosty tomorrow night, Thursday mainly dry

under high pressure but a change over a night. Rain coming in and

quite brisk winds. Once it clears out of the way on Friday, drier,

fairly cloudy but milder as well. Our next BBC Newsline

is at 6:25 in the morning