Mr. Se?n Armstrong:

Absolutely. This is a challenge for the Joint Committee on Climate Action. Under the climate action plan, there is significant motivation to have a method to measure the environmental credentials of products. We have been advised by the European Commission that to move in advance of its work is counter to harmonisation.

The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action, similar to this committee, has asked us can we move ahead but then we run the risk of sending the industry in a direction that is not aligned with the European standards that are being developed as we speak. The direction and the advice that we have been given by the Commission is to allow it to develop the environmental credentials for these products and then use that environmental criteria to assess the products, give them a score and relatively rate them. That is the current direction of travel for the environmental impact of products.