Half of homes upgraded in €500m schemes FAIL energy rating inspection
SERIOUS concerns have been raised about the State’s retrofit schemes after it emerged half the homes who received energy upgrades failed initial inspections.
Just under 40,000 homes will be retrofitted under the Better Energy Warmer Home and Better Energy Homes schemes this year.
The schemes – which are managed by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) on behalf of the Department of Environment – aim to upgrade 500,000 homes’ energy ratings by 2030. The two schemes have cost €538m.
However, a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) to the spending watchdog has uncovered significant levels of defects in works carried out under the Government-backed schemes.
Addressing a recent meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the Comptroller and Auditor General Seamus McCarthy said the SEAI carries out targeted inspections of retrofits carried out by contractors.
Last year, two-in-five of the projects carried out under the Better Energy Warmer Homes scheme – which are 100% granted funded – were inspected. And just under one-in-five of projects under the Better Energy Homes scheme, where partial grants are provided to homeowners, were tested.
Mr McCarthy told the PAC: ‘Of the projects inspected, only around half initially received a pass rating [but] following rectification, almost all retrofits achieved a pass rating.
The C&AG added:
‘Because the inspections are carried out on a targeted basis, the initial results of the inspections may not be representative of the standard of works overall. Nevertheless, they indicate that a higher rate of inspection may be required.’
SEAI chief executive William Walsh told the committee all contractors who carry out works under the scheme ‘are subject to minimum rates of inspection’.
He said: ‘In most cases, where a property does not pass an inspection, there will only be a very small number of inspection points that have failed to meet standards. Cases of serious non-compliance are rare.’
But he also warned the SEAI is ‘not a formal regulator of the industry, and instead often ends up ‘deferring to the regulatory powers of other agencies like the Register of Gas Installers of Ireland, the Register of Electrical Contractors of Ireland, and the National Standards Authority of Ireland’.
Mr Walsh added: ‘SEAI is not a certifier of works nor does it provide any warranty for the works it inspects.’
SEAI director of corporate services, Marion O’Brien, confirmed inspected contractors, who do not achieve a pass rate, are not removed from the scheme.
But she added: ‘We have a significant enough financial penalty that applies until the contractor gets the works to the standards we need. That works because we get 100% compliance there.’
However, PAC chair Brian Stanley expressed concern about the low level of inspections and the quality of work carried out under the schemes.
The Sinn Féin TD said: ‘The level of inspection is 8% in one of the schemes. I have come across situations where some pieces of work were left in kind of an odd way, to put it mildly. Small things were left out or whatever. Homeowners would complain about trying to get it resolved. Where do people go in that case?’
The Laois-Offaly TD also warned ‘we have a problem with self-certification in this country’.
‘We have many legacy problems because of a dependence on selfcertification. The point I am making is that in terms of value for money and good outcomes, it is very important that the SEAI is in control.’
Social Democrats climate spokeswoman Jennifer Whitmore echoed the PAC chair’s concerns.
She told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘Given such a high failure rate, questions must arise over the level of defects when it comes to the uninspected homes. A flagship retrofit scheme with a 50% failure rate is a matter for grave concern.’
In response to parliamentary questions about the high failure rate of inspected retrofits, Environment Minister Eamon Ryan said: ‘It is critically important that we can be confident that works supported by SEAI schemes are completed in line with the terms and conditions as set out in the scheme.
‘The SEAI carries out a significant number of inspections of retrofits supported under its schemes. The SEAI utilises a targeted, riskbased approach to selecting homes for inspection whilst ensuring a level of coverage across the contractor base.’
The Green Party leader said the SEAI ‘sets a very high pass standard for its inspections with a “pass” indicating that there are no open issues or follow-up snags’.
Minister Ryan added: ‘A number of controls are in place in relation to inspection fails where reworks are not completed – this can include de-registration of the contractor until re-works are completed.’
In response, Deputy Whitmore said: ‘While we must meet our climate targets and supporting homeowners to retrofit is a huge part of that, it is vital for the maintenance of public confidence that any work done is of the highest standard.’
‘Significant levels of defects in works’
‘The level of inspection is 8% in one of the schemes’