'˜Some businesses have heat on 24/7 when previously they barely had it on at all'

Speaking about the scheme she said: “Given the crippling pressures in our health service, that is simply inexcusable.

“Someone needs to be held to account for what is likely the biggest ever financial blunder in Northern Ireland’s history.

“Whilst in principle the scheme was good, encouraging people to move from unsustainable sources of energy to renewables, the implementation of it was disastrous.

“Basic precautions were not taken and now we know key opportunities were missed such as when a whistle-blower was effectively ignored.”

“There are people across Fermanagh and South who availed of the scheme in the entirely correct manner,” she added.

“These include several local care homes, as well as many poultry farmers who now not only use less fossil fuels to heat their sheds, but who have also found the heat from pellet burners is actually better for the welfare of their the birds.

“The fundamental problem however with the scheme is that some other people literally saw it as an easy way to make money.

“The more they burned, the more the earned.

“There are a number of businesses now with the heat on 24/7 when previously they barely had it on at all.

“That was never the intention of the scheme.

“It’s essential that the Public Account Committee investigation is given all the necessary documents and access to individuals involved to determine how such a ham-fisted scheme was every signed off at Ministerial level, and why officials did not realise this fatal flaw at an earlier date.”