Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 October 2023
64. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine with reference to his Department’s PV installers registration form, to list the mandatory training courses in solar photovoltaic panel installation that are acceptable to his Department; the institutions that provide such courses; the bodies that certify these courses and the level of certification required; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47015/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis question concerns the Department’s solar photovoltaic installers registration form, and the lists that are generated from that form. I am interested in the safety, the competency, and the training and certification of the people who are installing solar photovoltaic, PV, in farms. Will the Minister tell me where these courses that are acceptable to his Department are; what institutions provide the courses; and what certification is involved?
I thank the Deputy for raising this question, for his work on this matter over the last number of months, and his engagement on it.
Farm safety is an absolute priority for my Department and is always given considerable thought in the design of schemes. The new TAMS is aligned to our climate goals with enhanced support for farmers to invest in renewable energy solutions on their farms. To encourage the purchase of solar investments, thereby reducing dependence on fossil energy by farmers, the TAMS solar scheme is ring-fenced with its own investment ceiling of €90,000 and grant aided at the enhanced rate of 60%. The safety of solar PV systems, both at installation phase and for subsequent use by applicants of the TAMS grants, is of paramount importance. My Department has introduced technical specification S198 - a minimum specification for the installation of solar PV systems - which covers all relevant electrical and structural standards. My Department also requires that Safe Electric Ireland registered qualified electricians must undertake training courses in micro solar photovoltaic systems implementation and micro-generators electrical installation. The institutions that provide such courses are Chevron Training & Recruitment Ltd. and Metac Training which are certified to Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, standard. The level of certification is for a special purpose award micro solar photovoltaic systems implementation, and a special purpose award micro-generator electrical installation. The certification is a recognised QQI level 6 award in education and training for both courses. Equivalent qualifications within the EU are also acceptable. My Department also requires that solar PV installers must sign off on a testing and commissioning report that confirms that the system is ready for electricity generation in a safe manner in line with the latest applicable electrical standards.
I thank the Minister for his reply. I have been searching for the registered installer list of actual installers on his Department's website. I can only find the accepted solar PV registered installer list, which lists the companies. It does not list the actual individual electricians. I cannot find it. Will the Minister tell me if there is such a list in his Department? There are two forms that are required to be filled out and one of the forms mentions the companies and the other mentions the installers. I put it to the Minister that the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, has a list of installers but it is not a live list, if such a list exists. If a farmer wants to install solar PV on his or her farm is there a list they can go to and be confident that the people on that list are currently certified, recognised and regulated by Safe Electric Ireland because I cannot find it even though his Department does talk about a list of installers and a list of companies - two separate lists - as SEAI has but the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine does not seem to have?
I am not sure if we have such a list but I will inquire into that and facilitate a further engagement between Deputy Stanton and the Department on this matter. It is important that we do have the full oversight and view of the terms, conditions and safeguards regarding how this work is carried out. In my response I outlined the registration courses and the qualifications required. The Deputy made the point in terms of whether a list is being maintained similar to what is there with the SEAI and I will investigate that further. I am happy to facilitate an opportunity for Deputy Stanton to feed in his experience and understanding of this which I acknowledge he has done a lot of work on to make sure we have as foolproof an approach to the implementation of this grant as possible.
The SEAI lists 12 institutions across the country that provide courses. There is no such list on the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's website that I can find or maybe the Minister could point me in the direction of it and I would be grateful if he would do so. Would the Minister agree with me that if somebody installs solar PV on a farm and that person is not competent or qualified, that they can actually cause terrible damage and even danger to farmers and to animals? What is the Minister and his Department putting in place to ensure that does not happen and if it has happened, what will his Department do to compensate farmers who rely on these lists? They will go to these lists - it is only companies by the way, not individuals - thinking that these people are competent, regulated and can do things safely. We are talking about livelihoods and lives here so I ask the Minister to take this very seriously indeed. It has happened in other countries where solar PV expanded and all kinds of cowboys went out there with no certification. By the way, the SEAI list is not live either. In other words if somebody is taken off the Safe Electric Ireland list the SEAI has no way of finding out. This is very serious.
We have to make sure these jobs are done right. It is a very significant investment from a Government point of view of 60% grant aid. There is a separate grant ceiling as well from any other investment a farmer might make. It is a significant investment that is undertaken by the farmer also. We are talking about power generation and electricity and it is important that is done right because if it is not it can have serious consequences. With regard to the safeguards the Department has in place there are clear requirements related to the qualifications an installer must have. There is a legal obligation on those installers to fulfil those obligations. If there is any way we can assess the criteria in place to strengthen it further I am very much open to that because we are making a big investment here and I want to see it stand the test of time and to see it deliver for everyone and to be safe. If people have suggestions around the structures of the schemes we will consider those also.
