Ms Orla Coyle:

We have engaged with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and one of its main concerns is about the construction product regulation and the changes that are happening there. It does not want to go ahead with that change in the construction product regulation as to how the embodied carbon associated with materials is reported at an EU level and then develop something in Ireland that might be ahead of the game. We are in those discussions and we are involved with the Department.

In regard to the research that Mr. Meally highlighted, as he said we are starting to look at that process. There are international standards around the calculation methodology. We are trying to understand the implications and we have a research project that we commissioned this year looking at the impact of embodied carbon both on new-build and on retrofit and looking at sustainable materials and the impact they have. It has been updated. The Deputy talked about the 11%, we can bring that into the Irish context and develop the approach from that side. We do not have a specific target as yet in terms of what level you have to achieve to proceed with construction. That will be part of the research that is being carried out.