Mr. Chris Hughes:

As for the harmonisation of the energy scales, the Deputy will recall that I said the high-performance building or building with low energy use will still have low energy use. There is a piece of work to be done on mapping where the current energy rating scales would migrate to, from A1 and A2 all the way through to G, in the harmonised scale from 2025, that is, where an A1 rating would sit on the new scale. That is a piece of work the SEAI will need to do, informed by what a zero-emissions building will be. It will be A-rated on the harmonised scale. There is also the mapping of the G-rated buildings, that is, the 15% poorest performing buildings. They will need to be G-rated on the new scale. There is a piece of work for the SEAI to do in that regard.

To add to Mr. Armstrong's comments on the life cycle, there is a piece of work under way by the European Commission on the carbon emissions associated with a building. It has commissioned a detailed study, which is running at the moment and due to be completed in March of next year. That is a roadmap for carbon emissions reductions across the building stock and various trajectories or actions that might be taken. That will help inform how we calculate and display embodied carbon when that calculation methodology becomes available to us and where that information will be positioned, whether in the certificate itself or in related documents that accompany the BER certificate and advisory report.