RHI group prepares for more legal action

The group representing owners of Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) accredited boilers are preparing for the possibility of further legal proceedings with the Department for the Economy.

A judicial review taken out by the Renewable Heat Association for NI (RHANI) over the department’s decision to make cost-cutting changes to RHI tariffs was heard last month in Belfast.

Appeal

The judgment was reserved for a later date, but RHANI is now making budgetary preparations for the possibility of the judgment being appealed by either side.

“We should be prudent and should plan and prepare for every eventuality,” an update circulated among RHANI members reads.

It suggests that additional legal costs could be met by increasing the annual membership fee from £100 per boiler at present to £250 to £300 per boiler in 2018.

The organisation currently has 546 members, representing approximately 1,400 of the 2,126 RHI accredited boilers in NI.

Pig imports at 20-month high

The number of pigs imported weekly from the Republic of Ireland for direct slaughter in NI has reached a 20-month high with 11,158 pigs imported during the last week of October.

Total pig imports in 2016 were down by 17% compared with 2015.

Last year, around 35% of NI’s 1.3m annual pig kill came from the Republic of Ireland. Imports made up 45% of the total kill in 2015 and 50% of the total in 2014.