Chairman:

I thank Mr. McCarthy. I will start with a few questions myself. The committee will soon visit the Tipperary Energy Agency. What has the Department done to encourage other local authorities to follow suit and take similar actions to those taken in respect of the Tipperary Energy Agency?

Mr. McCarthy referred to heating systems. We welcome the move away from fossil fuel heating systems to more energy efficient heating. What will Part L of the building regulations provide in respect of future-proofing our heating systems, particularly in new homes that are now being built? What is the likelihood of these homes having to be retrofitted in upcoming years in order to meet new standards? Deep retrofitting has limited scope at the moment. What are the Department's plans for expanding on that?

On non-residential buildings like schools and hospitals, the committee was told a number of weeks ago that for new schools built today, the Department of Education and Skills has determined that the most suitable heating system is oil. That is under technical guidance document TGD033, which was only issued by the Department this year. Do the witnesses feel that document is misguided, knowing the targets we have to achieve?

On the foreshore amendment legislation, why is that legislation delayed and what is needed to develop our offshore wind electricity generation capacity?