127. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to review the independence of the gas safety supervisory body, particularly regarding its capacity to impartially investigate complaints lodged against its own inspection and certification standards; whether he believes that the current system of oversight provides adequate protection to installers who raise systemic safety concerns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59844/26]

Under section 9F of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999, as amended, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) is responsible for the regulation of gas installers with respect to safety. The CRU is a statutorily independent body and provides a dedicated email address for Oireachtas members which enables them raise questions on regulatory matters directly with the CRU at oireachtas@cru.ie.

The CRU has appointed a Gas Safety Supervisory Body (GSSB) to operate the Registered Gas Installer scheme on its behalf. The current GSSB is Safe Energy Ireland. The complaints procedures developed by the GSSB are subject to CRU approval. The CRU maintains an oversight role in relation to the operation of the scheme and provides an avenue for escalation where a complainant remains dissatisfied following completing the complaints process of the GSSB. As part of this process, the CRU will complete an impartial review of the complaint and follow the escalated complaints procedure.

Where necessary, the CRU can engage with the GSSB to ensure that it implements any improvements in their processes which have been identified through the CRU’s review of the complaint. There are no plans to review the gas safety framework at this time.