We must turn RHI recommendations into real action and reform – Murphy

Finance Minister Conor Murphy has today commented on the RHI Inquiry report which was commissioned by his predecessor Máirtín Ó Muilleoir.

Conor Murphy said, “I thank Sir Patrick Coghlin, Chair of the Inquiry, Dame Una O’Brien, Dr Keith MacLean and the wider Inquiry team for their dedication and professionalism.

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“This report is exceptionally detailed, running to over 600 pages which address a range of themes including accountability, governance, transparency, capability, capacity and culture.”

It makes 319 findings and 44 recommendations for change.

He continued, “My role as Sponsor for the Inquiry is to consider the findings and what actions need to be taken. 

“As the report acknowledges, implementing the recommendations will require sustained, system-wide change over a period of time.

“All Ministers will have a contribution to the response which we will discuss at Monday’s Executive.

“Immediately following the Executive I will bring key next steps to the Assembly to discuss with MLAs.

“These steps will include: the dedicated Executive sub-committee which was part of the New Decade, New Approach document; a new Ministerial Code of Conduct; further reform of the Civil Service; and an external independent panel to identify any potential misconduct by civil servants. I will provide more details on Monday.

“The Inquiry team has completed their programme of work.

He added, “The onus is now on us to turn the recommendations into real action and reform.

“We need effective governance and to manage public money in the public interest. This must never happen again.”

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Posted by NewryTimes News on Mar 13 2020. Filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry