Gas and heating

Gas leak investigation

Finding and repairing a gas escape. If you can smell gas now, ring the emergency line before you raise a job here.

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Whether this needs a licence in Ireland

Ireland

Licence required

Registered Gas Installer (RGI)

Registered Gas Installer (RGI), issued or supervised by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. Ask for the registration number before the work starts and check it on the public register. Check the register: www.rgi.ie

Wording approved by Talqero; not yet reviewed by a solicitor

Commission for Regulation of Utilitieswww.rgi.ieChecked 11/10/2026

Gas leak investigation: what the job involves

Finding and repairing a gas escape on pipework or appliances inside the home, after the emergency service has made it safe. If you smell gas now, call Gas Networks Ireland on 1800 20 50 50 first.

Also asked for as: smell of gas · emergency gas engineer · gas leak repair · gas pipe leak · RGI emergency

How the job is usually done

Emergency first: Gas Networks Ireland attends a reported smell, makes the supply safe and may cap the meter.
The RGI tightness-tests the installation from the meter to find whether there is a leak and how big.
Trace the leak to the joint, valve or appliance using leak detection and isolating sections.
Repair or replace the faulty pipe, fitting or appliance part.
Retest the whole installation, purge and relight appliances.
Issue the Declaration of Conformance so the supply can be restored or used again.

Gas leak investigation: what is included

Usually included

Tightness testing of the installation
Locating and repairing the leak on accessible pipework
Relighting appliances and the Declaration of Conformance

Usually not included — agree it separately

Leaks on the street side of the meter or at the meter, which Gas Networks Ireland deals with
Lifting floors or opening walls beyond what is needed, and making them good
Replacing an unsafe appliance that cannot be repaired

Materials and who supplies them

Pipe, fittings and valves, supplied by the RGI
A replacement appliance if needed, usually supplied by the customer

How long it takes

A leak at an accessible joint is often found and fixed within a couple of hours; leaks in buried or hidden pipework can take a day and may need a new pipe run.

Gas leak investigation: the rules in Ireland

What the official sources say, checked against them on the date shown. A summary, not legal advice — follow the link to read the rule itself.

If you smell natural gas, call Gas Networks Ireland’s 24-hour emergency service on 1800 20 50 50 straight away: turn off appliances and the meter if safe, open windows, and do not use switches, flames or a phone near the leak. For LPG, call your gas supplier’s emergency line.
Applies to: anyone who smells gas
Gas Networks Ireland · gasnetworks.ie · Checked 9 October 2026
Only a Registered Gas Installer may install, replace, alter, repair or service a gas appliance or gas pipework in a home, whether natural gas or LPG. Every RGI carries a photo ID card renewed each year, and can be checked on the register.
Applies to: the installer, and the homeowner who engages one
Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006; Register of Gas Installers of Ireland for the Commission for Regulation of Utilities · rgi.ie · Checked 9 October 2026
An RGI must issue a Declaration of Conformance (completion certificate) for all gas works and give the customer the original copy as soon as the work is finished. A service, safety check, repair or appliance fit is recorded on a Cert 3; a boiler replacement on a Cert 2.
Applies to: the installer
Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006; Register of Gas Installers of Ireland · rgi.ie · Checked 9 October 2026

What gas leak investigation costs, and why

What jobs on Talqero came to

Not enough comparable jobs yet to publish a range here. Talqero shows a price range only once at least five comparable jobs, agreed prices or offers exist — a range from fewer would describe a handful of jobs, not the market. Post your job and compare the offers you get.

What affects the price

Where the leak is: an accessible joint, inside a wall or under a floor
Repair or a new section of pipe run
Emergency or out-of-hours attendance
Number of appliances to relight and check
VAT: building work on a home is charged at the reduced rate of 13.5% by a VAT-registered business — unless the materials come to more than two-thirds of the price, when Revenue’s two-thirds rule applies the goods rate to the whole job. Ask whether a quote includes VAT.

Paperwork to ask for at the end

Declaration of Conformance for the repair
Any warning notice left by Gas Networks Ireland or the RGI, with what it requires

Safety

If you smell gas: turn off appliances, turn off at the meter if you can, open doors and windows, do not use switches, flames or phones nearby, and call 1800 20 50 50 from outside.
Do not turn the supply back on after it has been capped; that is for the RGI or Gas Networks Ireland.
Carbon monoxide has no smell; a CO alarm is a separate protection from a gas leak.

Gas leak investigation: before you hire

Questions to ask a tradesperson

Will you tightness-test the whole installation after the repair?
May I see your RGI card?
Will I get a Declaration of Conformance before the gas is back on?

What you can do yourself

Never: a householder’s only safe actions are to turn off appliances and the meter, ventilate and call the emergency line.

What to put in your task

Has Gas Networks Ireland already been out and made it safe?
Where is the smell strongest?
Mains gas or LPG?
Can the gas pipes be seen, or are they under floors and in walls?

Photos that help

Any notice or tag left on the meter or appliance
The gas meter and the pipe leaving it
The appliance near where the smell is strongest

Gas leak investigation by county

Choose your county for gas leak investigation close to home.

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Questions about gas leak investigation

Does gas leak investigation need a licence in Ireland?

Yes. Registered Gas Installer (RGI), supervised by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. Source: www.rgi.ie. Ask for the registration number and check it on the public register. Wording approved by Talqero; not yet reviewed by a solicitor.

Who do I call first if I smell gas?

Gas Networks Ireland’s 24-hour emergency line, 1800 20 50 50, for natural gas. For LPG, your gas supplier’s emergency number. Raise a job here for the repair once the supply is safe.

Does the emergency service fix the leak?

It makes the situation safe and deals with the network and meter. A leak in your own pipework or appliances is repaired by a Registered Gas Installer you engage.

Is it safe to use the cooker until the RGI comes?

Not if the supply has been capped or an appliance has been tagged as unsafe. Leave it off until the RGI has tested and certified the installation.

Often booked with gas leak investigation

Heating engineers