The Garda has been called in to investigate a suspected fraud involving renewable energy grants at the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.
The authority said the suspected fraud was uncovered after an unusual number of grant applications was received from one contractor. A spokesman said all payments to the contractor were immediately frozen and the firm involved was deregistered from the list of approved contractors. Gardaí were called in and after an internal audit the authority said it was satisfied just one contractor was involved.
The suspected fraud took place in the Better Energy Homes Scheme, applicable to households. Since its inception the scheme has paid out more than €115 million in grants relating to 270,000 upgrade measures in 110,000 homes.
The authority said it was consulting its legal advisers regarding the recovery of funds from the contractor involved.