The Secret Service took more than a year to replace a broken alarm system at the home of George H.W. Bush, it has emerged. The alarm failed at the former president's Houston residence in September 2013 and even though the Secret Service bought a replacement system in January 2014, it took until December  for it to be installed - leaving the couple without the protection of a working alarm at their home for 15 months. It came despite an agent's recommendation in 2010 that the alarm, which was installed in 1993, be replaced because it 'had exceeded its life cycle'. The request was denied for an unknown reason. The oversight - just the latest in a string of blunders by the agency - was revealed in a report by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, which was released on Thursday. Concerns: Former First Lady Barbara Bush and former President George H.W. Bush, pictured watching basketball in March, did not have a working alarm at their Houston home for more than a year . During the time the alarm was out of service, the Secret Service assigned an employee to keep watch over the residence, according to the report,CBS News reported. Some inside the agency contended that the agent was not sufficient to replace the alarm system, the Washington Post reported. Despite the apparently relaxed security measures, there were no breaches at the property, where 90-year-old Bush and his wife Barbara have lived for more than two decades. On Twitter on Thursday, Bush said that he and his wife have 'great respect for, and confidence in, the men and women' of the Secret Service. 'That respect and confidence has never waned,' he wrote. Endorsement: In light of the reports, Bush tweeted that he had 'great respect' for the Secret Service . Property: Their Houston home, circle, was guarded by a Secret Service agent throughout the 15 months . The report also raises concerns about the security at other former presidents' homes, but has redacted their names. Among the concerns, one official reported that safety equipment showed 'signs of impending failure'. In January, the Washington Post reported that the alarm system at Vice President Joe Biden's home was failing so agents had simply switched the system off. They were told that budget constraints meant the repairs would have to wait. The new report, which was addressed to Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy, recommended that the agency reviews all security equipment and looks into how it keeps track of maintenance issues. 'With these fixes in place, we believe the Secret Service will more effectively meet its mission to protect the lives and homes of our former presidents,' Homeland Security Inspector General John Roth, who wrote the report, said in a statement. Blunders: A member of the Secret Service patrols outside the White House last September after a man managed to scale the fence, run across the lawn and enter the property without being stopped . Embarrassment: Last week, a man landed a gyrocopter on the U.S. Capitol lawn in the latest embarrassment for security teams in Washington D.C. Pictured, a member of a bomb squad checks out the aircraft . Clancy agreed with the recommendations and said that the Secret Service had launched a review before the investigations. The report's findings are just the latest embarrassment for the Secret Service, which has seen its reputation tarnished by a string of missteps in recent months. Last year, Iraq war veteran Omar Gonzalez scaled the fence of the White House and managed to enter the residence - running right past agents, who also failed to release a dog in time. Earlier this year, two agents drove through an active bomb investigation, and last week, a protester flying a gyrocopter managed to land on the lawn on the U.S. Capitol in D.C.
The alarm system at the former president's Houston property failed around September 2013 but was not replaced until December 2014 . It came after an agent recommended in 2010 that the 20-year system be replaced but the request was denied . The details emerged in a report by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General released on Thursday . The report recommended that the agency reviews all security equipment .