Ms Sheenagh Rooney:

A key building block of the scheme is our reliance on the public to act as the police, as it were, on the ground. It is important for the success of the scheme that the general public be aware of why the scheme is in place, its benefits and what people can do to protect their families and their homes. The CER, in conjunction with RGII and other stakeholders, participates in several publicity campaigns on a yearly basis. These are designed to focus on the key message, which we try to get across to the general public in an accessible manner. Essentially, the message is to use a registered gas installer to carry out work at home as it is a legal requirement. They are insured, competent and will do the work in accordance with the standards set down. We also advertise the importance of servicing gas appliances such as boilers, and carbon monoxide awareness, a key risk to the public but one against which it can protect itself. We also advertise through public engagement how people can contact us if they suspect work has been carried out in their home which is substandard or carried out by unregistered workers. Whenever we have a successful prosecution, we advertise that, as it will act as a further deterrent against illegal activity.

Prior to 2009, when the CER took over this legal responsibility, a voluntary scheme was in place with only 800 people participating in it. Now it is a legal requirement. Due to the work done on public engagement, awareness of the RGII and its benefits has increased over time, reaching a level of 69% among natural gas users. Not only do we put our efforts into engaging with the public, as they are key to the scheme, and carrying out the awareness campaigns, we also monitor the effectiveness of these campaigns to see if the message is getting across. Over time, we have adjusted the message to ensure it remains effective.

It is a legal requirement for people who are undertaking gas works in the home to be registered. It is also illegal for a person to claim he or she is a registered gas installer when that is not the case. Penalties have been laid out in legislation for these offences. On indictment, there is a fine of €15,000 and the potential for three years’ imprisonment and, on summary conviction, a €5,000 fine and six months’ imprisonment. We have put much effort over the past two years into strengthening the work we do in the enforcement area.

All complaints notified to the CER are investigated. We do not tolerate illegal activity and, as such, we investigate all complaints. The number of successful prosecutions we have taken has increased. Last year, we had seven successful prosecutions and we have had one so far this year. We have three that are about to go to court. In total, we now have 45 ongoing case files. That compares quite favourably with Northern Ireland, which has no such prosecutions. It also compares very favourably with the UK given the number of gas installers. We have focused on ensuring that when our cases go to court, we follow best practice in respect of how evidence is gathered. We have focused on streamlining our internal processes and we have never yet brought a prosecution that has not been successful. Whenever we are successful with a prosecution, we have strived to attract as much publicity as possible relating to the offences that were committed and we have had quite a deal of success in getting these prosecutions publicised in trade journals and newspapers.

Complaints, all of which we investigate, can be made to us in three ways. People can contact us anonymously, so if anyone suspects anybody of conducting illegal activity, there is a phone number they can call. They can also contact the RGII website and they can also write directly. All complaints are recorded and can be made anonymously.

We must balance the level of resources we put into enforcement and audit and inspection. As was mentioned in the previous presentation, whenever anybody contacts us, including the association, with ideas about how we can focus more on enforcement, we always look into these ideas. In our recent consultation, people suggested that we concentrate more on public awareness. That is something we are committed to doing. Initiatives have been suggested in respect of restricting the sale of gas boilers or appliances to those who are registered. That is not within our legislation but, on a voluntary basis, we have contacted all DIY suppliers in order that they can advertise the scheme and in order that they might consider agreeing to sell boilers and appliance parts only to those who are registered.

We had a recent consultation because the scheme had been operating for up to seven years and we are now about to go to tender for a new gas safety supervisory body to run the scheme. We had a lot of meetings with stakeholders, including the association, in respect of how the scheme was operating. We also had more than 20 responses in respect of the scheme and how it was doing. The CER remains committed not only to the scheme as it is but to improving the scheme constantly, continuing our focus on enforcement, the work we have done on returning the completed certificates, constant engagement with stakeholders about how the scheme can be improved, and monitoring the gas safety supervisory body going forward in respect of key performance indicators such as how quickly it is resolving complaints, etc. We reiterate that we are committed to tackling illegal activity and any deficiencies in the scheme. Anyone who suspects that illegal activity is taking place should address their complaints anonymously or otherwise to the RGII or use the phone number indicated on the slide.