Mr. Se?n Armstrong:

There are two separate issues. One concerns the accounting methodologies for embodied carbon. This is for all technologies and we must have some way of measuring embodied carbon. The other issue is perhaps a more holistic approach to the different innovative systems available.

We have to ensure that they are fit for their intended use and the conditions in which they are to be used. In order to do that they can be done through an Irish national standard or an alternative approach such as independent third-party certification. For timber frame construction there is a well-recognised I.S. 440 timber standard. There is absolutely no barrier in the regulatory system or in the standards system to the construction of timber frame housing. As I identified earlier on, the Irish Timber Frame Manufacturers Association states that 48% of new housing is timber frame. That is not the Government saying this, but the industry. It is in its press release.