David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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41. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 363 of 28 May 2024, the way his Department ensures that the person signing the specific form mentioned in his response is a currently registered Safe Electric Ireland electrician; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25739/24]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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The purpose of this question is to ask the Minister how his Department ensures that persons signing the form relating to the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, solar photo-voltaic, PV, panels are registered Safe Electric Ireland electricians, bearing in mind that more than half of the TAMS 2 processed grants were processed on the basis of forms that were not from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine but from Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, instead. Those forms are not the same. There is a big anomaly here and I would like the Minister to address it.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Stanton for raising this issue. As Members know, I opened the very popular solar capital investment scheme, which is a measure under TAMS 3, for applications in February of last year. This scheme provides grant aid of 60% with a ring-fenced ceiling particular to this solar TAMS, of €90,000. Solar PV systems grant-aided under TAMS 3 include solar PV panels and solar PV rechargeable batteries as well.

All installations most comply with specification S198 which outlines the minimum specification for the installation of solar PV systems. All relevant electrical and structural standards are prescribed in this specification.

I can confirm that the electrician completing the prescribed form must provide details confirming he or she is a current registered Safe Electric Ireland electrician.

I also wish to point out that any solar PV installer included on my Department's solar PV registered installer list is required to submit a completed solar PV installer registration form and an up-to-date certificate of public and employer's liability insurance.

It is also a requirement that the electrician has completed training courses in solar photovoltaic panel implementation and electrical installation of microgenerators. A Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, award certification for training modules 6N0306 and 6N0307 or equivalent is acceptable. There are a number of training providers nationwide for these courses.

At national level, the energy sector stands to benefit from the carbon credits accrued for all solar PV systems installed, be it at industrial, commercial, agricultural or domestic level. The energy sector falls under the remit of the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his response. Form S198 from the Department is very comprehensive and contains registered electrical contractor details, as the Minister outlined. This is the SEAI form. It is basically the same, but not exactly the same because it does not contain those details. There is no way of checking whether the person who filled out the form is an approved Safe Electric Ireland installer. If a person has been taken off the Safe Electric Ireland list, there does not seem to be any way of checking that. In addition, the Department of Agriculture has one list of companies and installers. However, SEAI has two lists, one list for companies and a separate list for installers. There are huge anomalies here. Will the Minister explain why his Department accepted applications that did not come in the shape of the official S198 forms? More than half of them were for TAMS 2. The number is 129 of 236 paid. This is very serious. I ask the Minister to set up an inquiry into it as a matter of urgency.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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This is something Deputy Stanton and I discussed before. The position is that electricians completing the prescribed form must provide details confirming that they are registered Safe Electric Ireland electricians.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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It does not.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The electricians completing those forms must provide those details. That is the position.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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They do not.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Any PV installer included on my Department's solar PV registered installer list is required to submit a completed solar PV installer registration form as well as an up-to-date certificate of public insurance or employer's liability. As already stated, it is also a requirement that the electrician has completed the training courses in solar PV implementation as well as those relating to electrical installation of microgenerators. That is the position, but I know this is something on which the Deputy has engaged with my Department. If any further engagement is required I am certainly happy to facilitate. That is the position on the requirements.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I accept the Minister's bona fides. However, I am taking information from replies to previous parliamentary questions I tabled. Half of those applications were on the wrong forms. They are very similar but not they are not the same. There is serious information missing from one to the other. I am really worried about this.

Does the Minister agree that farmers are at a legal disadvantage because of the Department's lack of oversight in respect of this matter? There is no way of figuring out whether the person doing the work is competent and trained if they are not on the Safe Electric Ireland list. There is a big gap in this regard. How many companies were involved in this? Will the Minister give me this information at a later stage? How many companies actually were involved in filling out the SEAI form, the wrong one, versus the S198 form from his Department? They are effectively the same form but they are not the same form. This is very serious. The SEAI confirmed to me at a joint committee meeting that it has no formal relationship with the Department or the TAMS scheme. It is not involved here. The SEAI has best practice because it has two separate lists, one of installers and one of companies. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has one list that is actually an amalgamation of both.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The position is that any electrician completing the prescribed form must provide details confirming they are currently registered with Safe Electric Ireland. I would like to facilitate a further meeting between Deputy Stanton and my own officials. If there is any level of confusion here, I want to make sure it is addressed. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and for digging into it. However, the position is that they must provide those details. I am happy to facilitate a further meeting to discuss the matter further with the Deputy.