Allister meets Auditor General on DARD Turbine Scheme
12 August 2008
Traditional Unionist MEP Jim Allister has met with John Dowdall, Northern Ireland Comptroller and Auditor General, after a request was made by Mr Allister for DARD’s role in the Wind Energy for Rural Business (WERB) Scheme to be investigated. The WERB scheme was fraught with difficulties from the outset, with 11 of the grant-aided turbines developing severe technical difficulties, including a number of turbines where blades dislodged.
The MEP said,
“My primary motivation in asking the NI Audit Office to investigate DARD’s role in this scheme, is to secure redress for those farmers who have invested large sums of money in turbines at Government’s encouragement, and who remain out of pocket as a result.”
Mr Allister added,
“The Auditor General was less than content with DARD’s attempts to furnish me, an elected representative, with misleading information about this scheme. DARD wrote to me, stating that both installers and turbine equipment were on Government’s ‘Clear Skies’ list of approved installers/equipment. I have since learned that the Powerbreeze turbine variety did not appear on this list until some time after these turbines were purchased under the WERB scheme, and that the supplier never featured on this list.”
“The Northern Ireland Audit Office will be carrying out its own Report on DARD’s handling of this scheme, with the power to refer DARD to the Public Accounts Committee if serious breaches of public accounting rules are found. I will, of course be keeping a close watch on developments as they unfold.”
ENDS
