Summary

  • Renewable Heat Incentive Inquiry examining botched energy scheme

  • Biomass boiler installers Alan Hegan and Connel McMullan face inquiry

  • Inquiry set up after public concern over scheme's huge projected overspend

  • Retired Court of Appeal judge Sir Patrick Coghlin chairing inquiry at Stormont

  • Public hearings in critical phase with high-profile witnesses giving evidence

Live Reporting

Iain McDowell and Robin Sheeran

  1. RHI scheme - what was it?

    The Renewable Heat Incentive scheme - or RHI for short - came to the fore of the Northern Ireland public's knowledge in late 2016.

    The fallout from the scandal attached to it is still being felt in the region's politics today.

    A biomass boilerGetty Images

    The scheme was set up by the Northern Ireland Executive in 2012 as a way of encouraging businesses to switch from using fossil fuels to renewable sources for generating their heat.

    Those who signed up were offered financial incentives to buy new heating systems and the fuel to run them.

  2. Good morning

    It's the start of the final month at the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Inquiry - who would've thought when it started almost 11 months ago that it would still be rolling at this stage?

    The past month was an eventful one in the Senate chamber at Stormont, with infighting within the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) over the cash-for-ash debacle laid bare.

    Stormont's Parliament Buildings

    This week brings a change of theme, much less political - today the inquiry will hear from installers of renewable heating systems about what they knew about the RHI scheme and how they benefitted from it.

    In the witness chair today will be Alan Hegan of Hegan Biomass Ltd and Connel McMullan of Alternative Heat Ltd.

    The proceedings begin in the next 10 minutes or so and we'll have a live stream for you as well as a text commentary of the best bits.