Dr. Paul McGowan:

I thank members of the joint committee for inviting us here. We are pleased to make a presentation on the important issue of gas safety.

All aspects of the gas supply chain are subject to safety regulations - that is, from the well to the burner tip. I want to reassure the committee that gas is essentially a safe fuel in Ireland. I want to reassure gas customers that they can have assurance on gas safety if they use a registered gas installer to carry out an installation in their home, to service or change a boiler, or to carry out any work on their gas installation.

I wish to make three key points about using registered gas installers. First, those gas installers are on the register because they have been deemed competent to be there. Second, they are insured. Third, they are subject to audit and inspection by the Register of Gas Installers of Ireland. That is the assurance gas users can take from using a registered gas installer. It is a key message that we continue to try to put out, both in our dialogue with the industry and in the advertising we run.

Nevertheless, we operate on the basis of continuous improvement. The scheme we run is subject to continual review in order to determine where improvements can be made. We welcome the opportunity to talk with stakeholders, including the association, and to talk here today with members of the joint committee.

We learn from this dialogue and from the investigations that we carry out, and we also learn from any gas incidents that occur. This feeds into our ongoing development of the registered gas installers' scheme. There are three key facets to the overall RGII scheme.

First, we rely on communication - making the public aware of the general dangers associated with gas and with installation that is not carried out by a competent installer. Second, we carry out prosecutions of unregistered gas installers who install or carry out servicing on a gas installation or who portray themselves as a registered gas installer. Both of these are criminal offences for which we have powers to prosecute. The third aspect of the regulatory scheme is registration, the means by which we ensure people can be portrayed as registered gas installers and, therefore, people can have confidence in using them to carry out gas works.

All functions pertaining to the registered gas installers scheme stem from the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006. As with everything done by the Commission for Energy Regulation, CER, it is a creature of statute and operates within the legal framework that is in place. The CER is responsible for the overall operation of the scheme. It defines works that can only be carried out by a registered gas installer. We have the power to define gas works which are restricted to registered gas installers. We also undertake prosecutions of people who carry out gasworks when they are not registered gas installers and those who portray themselves as registered gas installers when they are not. We also undertake audits and inspections of the gas safety supervisory body, the Register of Gas Installers of Ireland, RGII. Through public consultation and engagement with various stakeholders, we make decisions on the overall RGII scheme criteria. Recently, we completed a consultation on it.

We also carry out activities to raise public awareness about the dangers associated with carbon monoxide and the need to use a registered and competent installer when getting any fuel-burning appliances serviced or changed. The RGII is under contract to us to provide the day-to-day operation of the scheme. It maintains and publishes the register of gas installers and it is its job to ensure all applicants to join the register have attained the appropriate qualifications and hold insurance. One common reason for an installer to be suspended temporarily is that he or she does not have insurance. RGII also undertakes audit and inspection of installers on at least an annual basis. It will also investigate complaints where members of the public or gas customers make a complaint against a registered gas installer.

When the voluntary registration scheme operated, it had between 500 and 600 installers on its register. Since the scheme became statutory, the number has risen to 3,000 registered gas installers. The majority of certificates sold are servicing certificates. There is a gap between the number of certificates sold and the number returned to RGII. Recent initiatives have been put in place which we hope will address this. We have already seen some improvements in rectifying this gap.