Francis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their time and briefings which are most welcome. I also thank them for their wisdom, this discourse and the energy all of them bring to the subject of embodied carbon. I have been inspired in my career by the work of Mr. Ciarán O'Connor and Mr. Pat Barry in their respective professional exemplary projects in policy agendas that are truly sustainable and evolving. I should also note Mr. Kerrigan in Enterprise Ireland and his work in the timber sector and the third level space, in particular, and how it is preparing Irish graduates for our future production of Irish roundwood. From what I understand it will double in the next 20 years. There is a lot of timber coming.

As Mr. Barry noted, 14% of embodied carbon emissions come from the construction sector and this has risen in recent times. Other EU jurisdictions are moving forward faster than the EU to put in place embodied carbon targets. However, from briefings to date that I have had from Departments and other stakeholders, we are waiting for EU protocols. We are waiting until 2025 when the EU has its position that we can work from.

This is in contrast to how we embraced energy reduction in buildings with Partel. I am aware the area is complex. However, does Mr. O'Connor believe we should be moving faster in setting targets for the sector and architects to work from and towards? If so, can he project when we might see them coming into place? I am aware Mr. O'Connor has led in this area for many decades. Therefore, I would be grateful for his opinion on how we move forward in putting in place embodied carbon targets. Does he have a timeline in his head for implementation?