The scandal around the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme was a key factor in the collapse of Stormont in early 2017. The scheme allowed claimants to profit through perverse ‘burn to earn’ incentives, completely undermining its supposedly green purpose. It seems, however, that RHI was only the tip of the iceberg.
Arlene Foster announced that by reducing physical distancing for children from 2m to 1m, all children would be able to attend full-time from September. This was branded “unrealistic and undeliverable” by Graham Gault, the NI Vice-President of the National Association of Head Teachers.
The story which unfolds is illuminating on a number of levels, but is perhaps most revealing with regard to the close relationship between the Stormont politicians – particularly the DUP – and big business.
The DUP and Sinn Féin’s whipping up of sectarian tensions, the debacle of the talks process, and the inability of the main parties to provide any solutions to the myriad of economic and social problems that blight our society are an indictment of the Orange and Green establishment. They offer nothing positive for working-class people, only more fear, division and
austerity.
