OFTEC NEWS
“With the support of a fully-engaged technical team in GB, we respond to technical issues daily and, if necessary, engage with local building control and consumers to resolve issues.”
waffle – and it is not even good or consistent waffle’. A lot of work is still to be done in Northern Ireland. OFTEC has met the majority of MLAs, and most parties would support the inclusion of sustainable biofuels in the mix. The difficulty is that the civil servants, spread across three different departments (DfE for policy, DAERA for agriculture and climate change and the Department for Communities for fuel poverty) seem to all have their own ideas on how to move forward, but lack the reality of joined up thinking. OFTEC and UKIFDA will continue to meet local politicians and push our agenda of using blended fuels to reduce carbon emissions and help meet the 2030 targets, alongside the deployment of heat pumps. In terms of ambition, the recent DAERA draft climate plan indicated a paltry £1.8m allocated to low-carbon homes by 2027. That’s support for only c.250 homes at £7,000 per house. If we are to reach the 2030 targets, an alternative and complementary solution will be required. We continue to meet with MLAs to ensure the liquid fuel solution is heard and to retain that market for the registered technicians
who install and service these appliances daily. On the ground, we pride ourselves in the level of support we offer to technicians. In NI and ROI, we regularly deal with cases and issues brought by registered technicians to our door. With the support of a fully-engaged technical team in GB, we respond to technical issues daily and, if necessary, engage with local building control and consumers to resolve issues. Two recent cases spring to mind where we offered practical and meaningful support to registered technicians. The first was a complaint about a boiler that was not installed correctly in Co Antrim. At a local level we visited the site and, after contact with the technician, managed to get the problem resolved. The comment from the homeowner says it all, ‘We are very grateful for the hard work and persistence of yourself, David and Sean, in getting the issues resolved. It is fantastic your organisation is there to mediate for consumers as the alternative is the pain of a lengthy legal battle.’ In ROI, we had a registered technician who had a problem with a rented property and again, the positive response to our action speaks for itself.
If you are registered with OFTEC, we are here to support you and help you do your job better. Giving consumers control documents gives confidence in your ability and increases your professional standing in their eyes. Promote yourself with OFTEC and give consumers assurance that if they do have an issue, we are here to help them and you. If you have not yet registered in Ireland, reach out to me, David Blevings, or Sean McBride for a chat. It will be worth it.
David Blevings, OFTEC Ireland Manager on T: +44 (0)28 9186 2916 Sean McBride, Ireland Representative on T: +44 (0)7540 502 304 (NI) or +353 (0)87 241 7041 (RoI) www.oftec.org
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