The Alliance Party has said the release of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)

claimants should have been done in December.

The RHI scheme is set to cost the public purse around £490 million.

Alliance MLA Stewart Dickson said the release needed to be followed up with the revealing of donors to political parties in order to end the secrecy around financial contributions.

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He said: "It was overwhelmingly in the public interest to release these names and any associated details. However, it should have been done in December, along with Arlene Foster stepping down, and perhaps the recent election could have been avoided.

"It is disappointing this list was published at the end of a week just before the long St Patrick's Day weekend, perhaps in an attempt to avoid in-depth scrutiny of it. It would be disappointing to think this was a way to bury bad news."

(CD/LM)