Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to be with you at Midland Energy Training and Assessment Centre (METAC). When I first became a T.D. in 1987, training was essential because almost every house in this country had someone unemployed.
My colleagues Willie O’Dea and John Moloney, who went to school a few miles up the road from here in Ballyfin, recall how many of the students at that college in the 70s and 80s were forced to emigrate to find work.
I remember the emphasis Fianna Fail placed on AnCo, which is now FAS, to provide training in a wide range of skills to help people find employment.
Conservation of energy was high on everybody’s agenda at that time because we were watching the pennies.
Today Ireland has almost full employment and energy conservation is still on the agenda because, thanks to this Government’s management of the economy, people have money in their pockets.
As a result, the demand for energy has increased substantially since the 70s and 80s and we now need to conserve this energy in order to look after our environment.
I think it is very fitting to be officially opening this new training facility, which offers courses in sustainable energy as well as gas and oil operations.
It coincides with the Taoiseach’s commitment, last Saturday, to creating a greener environment in Ireland and to the increased use of sustainable energy.
I believe that companies like METAC have an important role in helping Irish industry, and the people who work in the wide variety of companies throughout Ireland, to train and learn about the renewable and sustainable energy areas like wood pellet boilers and solar panels.
These are vital areas in the global drive towards environmental protection and reduction in the use of fossil fuels.
The establishment of this training centre, the largest of its kind in Ireland and Britain, is a measure of Dominic Dunne’s foresight in this area.
It is already FÁS approved and registered by the Oil Firing Technical Association (OFTEC), which represents the oil heating industry in Ireland and the UK.
I believe that METAC is ideally set up to provide the training necessary for the successful implementation of many aspects of the natural gas safety framework included in the new Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006.
This Act, signed into law by the President last December, provides a firm legal foundation for the regulation of gas installers and gas safety generally.
It also includes significant statutory penalties for those who falsely describe themselves as registered gas installers, or contravene other safety provisions.
All gas installers must, now, be fully qualified and approved before being allowed to operate in the industry and METAC provides quality training in this area.
As a Minister who has worked hard to promote and introduce sustainable energy, I am delighted to see that METAC has two wood pellet boilers fitted to provide certified theory and practical courses.
Irish people have strongly embraced the renewable energy imperative and are keen to play their part in creating a cleaner environment.
I have supported this enthusiasm through a range of initiatives designed to make renewable technologies cheaper and more accessible.
In the past two years I have secured funding of €89 million for support packages to encourage the commercial and domestic sector to switch to renewable energy.
The €47 million Greener Homes programme, which provides a renewable energy support programme for individual householders, has been, by far, the most popular of the grant aid packages launched to date.
Over 13,000 applications have been received since it was launched almost a year ago. This is a clear indication of a strong public appetite to embrace the challenge of switching to more environmentally and economically sustainable energy.
Having skilled installers on the ground dealing with these technologies is also Key to the development of a sustainable market.
I welcome METAC’s initiative to forge ahead with training initiatives in this fast growing market. These will obviously provide important new skills for heating installers, as the demand for renewable heat technologies increases.
I commend the work done by METAC and its certification body, Blue Flame Ltd, for providing installer training which conforms to the recognised standards (EN 17024) for the certification of competent persons.
I believe this training centre has an important part to play, together with the regulator, CER and other industry bodies, in the continued success and safety of the sector.
I hope that each and every one of you working here enjoy continued success in the future.
Thank you.
ENDS