A court case challenging the Department for the Economy’s decision to reduce the tariff rates paid under Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) has been postponed until October.

The judicial review, taken by the Renewable Heat Association for NI (RHANI), was scheduled for the High Court in Belfast for four days from next Tuesday.

However, the case has now been put back to 2 October. Reports indicate that economic analysis brought forward by the RHANI led to the rescheduling of the case to allow the department’s lawyers time to respond.

Meanwhile, a Department for the Economy spokesperson has confirmed that 100% site inspections of all RHI boilers, promised by former Economy Minister Simon Hamilton, continues to be delayed due to issues with appointing an external auditor.

“A contractor wasn’t appointed because none of the bids fully met the tender requirements.

‘‘We have sought and received feedback from the potential suppliers and are considering the way forward,” the spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal.

The Ulster Farmers’ Union has criticised the department for failing to carry out the inspections before publishing the names of individual scheme participants.

“This failure has led to people being deemed to be in the wrong for simply taking part in a legitimate government scheme,” said UFU chief executive Wesley Aston.