RECI Chairman’s statement from RECI Annual Report

John Desmond, RECI Chairman

Chairman’s Statement from RECI Annual Report:

"My first year as Chairman  has been an eventful one. In October 2008 ,after a public tendering process, RECI was appointed by the Commission for Energy Regulation ( CER ) as one of the Electrical Safety Supervisory Bodies for a seven year term. Then in November after a similar international tendering  process the Register of Gas Installers of Ireland ( RGII ) was appointed by the Commission as the sole Gas Safety Supervisory Body to regulate the activities of natural gas installers with respect to safety.  RGII is a not for profit company and is owned by  RECI. The advantage to RECI of this new situation is that the costs of administration can now be shared between two companies with consequent savings while the ownership of the main assets remains with the RECI members.

Regulation of electrical contracting and natural gas installation is now on a statutory footing and the CER have powers of enforcement. Any electrical installation work which consists of one or more new circuits is defined as Controlled Works for which an ETCI completion certificate must be  issued. We have been assured by the CER that they will be launching a publicity campaign to make the public aware of the requirement for certification of all significant electrical installation work and advising Consumers that they should always use a Registered Contractor.

I am very hopeful that these developments will lead to greater safety for Consumers and a better industry for genuine Registered Contractors. We are facing into an exceptionally difficult economic period for contractors but we must not allow this to affect the high standards which RECI contractors have maintained over the years.

The fourth edition of the Wiring Rules is published and will be mandatory after September 2009. Our Spring programme of training courses on the Wiring Rules have been well attended and we will be running them again in the Autumn. I urge you to attend one of these courses to make sure that you are aware of the changes to the Rules. Our first ever RECI Contractor of the Year Awards have been a success and we acknowledge with thanks the generous sponsorship from Hibernian Aviva and Arachas Corporate Brokers. I would like to congratulate the regional and national winners and runners up and I hope that many more members will enter for future Award events.

There are two resolutions for consideration at the AGM. In order to be designated as an Electrical Safety Supervisory Body by the CER  it is necessary to change our Rules to comply with the statutory requirements. These proposed Rules have already been sent to you in January and a further copy is enclosed.

The second resolution is to substitute an amended Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company which is necessary in order to meet the statutory requirements as determined by the CER. It is a requirement that the number of Directors who represent Trade Associations or are active electrical contractors must be a minority of the total number of Directors. While I do not personally agree that such a requirement is necessary especially in light of RECI’s record of impartiality and fairness over the years I am pleased that only a small reduction in the number of contractor Directors will take place. This change will not be taking place until the AGM in 2010 when all the Directors retire by rotation.

An Explanatory Note regarding the amendments is included in this Annual Report.
I am confident that the RECI organization will successfully meet the challenges ahead and will go on to become an effective and respected regulatory body that its members can be proud of.

I thank my fellow directors for their support during my first term. I would like to thank our General Manager David McGloughlin, our Inspectorate and also our Administration and Office staff for their commitment and enthusiasm in making RECI  work efficiently."

John Desmond

RECI Chairman

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Unit 9 KCR Industrial Estate Kimmage Dublin 12 Telephone: 01 4929966 Fax: 01 4929983

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Source: RECI