Irish Electricians

[damien 582]

Hi all, Over here in Ireland we had two registered bodies ECSSA and RECI which you needed to be a member of one to get connected to the grid. Since 2015 our energy regulator awarded the tender to RECI ( Safe Electric) now the only regulatory body a strange move in my opinion seeing that the majority of Contractors North and South of the country were registered with ECSSA. Also since 2013 any person seen to have carried out any electrical work on Domestic installations (only) without membership of RECI are liable for a 3000 euro fine or 6 months imprisonment . We have had our first conviction of its kind in Europe to a guy from Co.Kildare this year. So I thought I would just share with you what's going on over here , THANKS Damien.

 

[Pete999]

Hi all, Over here in Ireland we had two registered bodies ECSSA and RECI which you needed to be a member of one to get connected to the grid. Since 2015 our energy regulator awarded the tender to RECI ( Safe Electric) now the only regulatory body a strange move in my opinion seeing that the majority of Contractors North and South of the country were registered with ECSSA. Also since 2013 any person seen to have carried out any electrical work on Domestic installations (only) without membership of RECI are liable for a 3000 euro fine or 6 months imprisonment . We have had our first conviction of its kind in Europe to a guy from Co.Kildare this year. So I thought I would just share with you what's going on over here , THANKS Damien.

Thanks Damien

 

[ETO]

I thought an Irish electrician was a plumber?

 

[Risteard]

Hi all, Over here in Ireland we had two registered bodies ECSSA and RECI which you needed to be a member of one to get connected to the grid. Since 2015 our energy regulator awarded the tender to RECI ( Safe Electric) now the only regulatory body a strange move in my opinion seeing that the majority of Contractors North and South of the country were registered with ECSSA. Also since 2013 any person seen to have carried out any electrical work on Domestic installations (only) without membership of RECI are liable for a 3000 euro fine or 6 months imprisonment . We have had our first conviction of its kind in Europe to a guy from Co.Kildare this year. So I thought I would just share with you what's going on over here , THANKS Damien.

I missed this when it was posted.

It was stated that a "majority of Contractors North and South of the country were registered with ECSSA". Firstly this isn't quite true. Almost no-one in the north was registered with ECSSA - practically all of them were with RECI. In my county there was only one ECSSA member and there were around 16 RECI members (myself included).

Secondly, although there were more ECSSA contractors than RECI contractors throughout the country, the larger contractors were generally RECI. Also part of the reason that ECSSA lost the licence to operate as an Electrical SSB (Safety Supervisory Body) was because they would admit contractors who did not meet the criteria as laid down by the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), and did not discipline contractors who breached the rules. (RECI did discipline members where necessary - although it was obviously not something which had to be done too often!)

Earlier this year a man was imprisoned for three months for carrying out Restricted Electrical Works without being a Registered Electrical Contractor (REC) and three months for falsely claiming to be an REC. The sentences were to run consecutively, i.e. six months' imprisonment and none of the sentence was suspended.