Northern Ireland's deputy first minister to resign over botched renewable energy scheme

Martin McGuinness is resigning as Northern Ireland's deputy first minister in protest over the handling of a botched heating scheme, Irish republican party Sinn Fein said.

His resignation will take effect from 6:00pm CET.

McGuinness cited the Democratic Unionist Party's handling of the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme, which could cost taxpayers an £490 million (about €565.1 million), as the reason.

He said his first minister Arlene Foster has a "clear conflict of interest" in the scandal.

His decision effectively triggers an election in Northern Ireland.

In his resignation letter, which was sent to Speaker Robin Newton of the Northern Ireland Assembly, McGuinness called for an election.

"We now need an election to allow the people to make their own judgment on these issues democratically at the ballot box," he wrote.

“The first minister has refused to stand aside, without prejudice, pending a preliminary report from an investigation. That position is not credible or tenable," he said in his resignation letter.

"The DUP's handling of this issues has been completely out of step with the public mood which is rightly outraged at the squandering of public money and the allegations of misconduct and corruption," he added.

The Renewable Heating Incentive (RHI) project was designed to encourage businesses to switch from burning fossil fuels to wood biomass heating.

The Renewable Heating Incentive was supposed to help businesses mitigate the costs of running eco-friendly boilers actually ended up paying out more than the cost of the fuel. Some applicants were found to heat buildings on an industrial scale just to make money.