Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I ask Mr. Armstrong to return to the three questions we did not have time for in the previous round. To recap quickly, one of the questions related to the Department's observation on Article 2(23). Was there more of a focus on the operational rather than embodied carbon, if I understood it right? If so, was that a weakness?

My second question was in respect of the Department's comments on Article 7 and the various exemptions for buildings pre-2027 and -2030. Ultimately, we will have to go back to those buildings at some stage. They might not be captured now.

Probably the most important of the three questions relates to the observation of the Department on Article 9, the minimum energy performance standards, MEPS, and the impact on rental supply. I have a particular concern in this regard. Deputy Higgins made a good point in the sense that we want to make sure we have adequate supply but we also want to make sure it is of an adequate standard. I ask Mr. Armstrong to speak more to the concern that was mentioned in respect of rental accommodation.

If I may throw in an additional question for Mr. Armstrong and Mr. Deegan that kind of ties in nicely, the committee is holding several separate hearings on the issue of embodied carbon, particularly with a view to future increased public and private residential construction and in the context of the sectoral emissions reductions targets that will be legally binding from this year on. What preparations are being undertaken in the Departments of Mr. Armstrong and Mr. Deegan specifically in respect of how we ensure our public housing output this year, next year and thereafter, but also in how we regulate and encourage the private sector to start reducing its embodied carbon? For good reason, all of our conversations to date have tended to focus on the operation and energy efficiency, and that is really good. However, we also know from research the Irish Green Building Council produced recently that even as we get our operational emissions in the built environment down, we will see significant increases in embodied carbon across the built environment if we do not grasp the nettle quickly in terms of what we can do there. If both Departments can speak to that at the end, that would be great. The SEAI got off lightly today from me.