Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

As we are so often told in this House the country is producing record numbers of houses, which we all welcome. It does not make sense that so many houses are being built, and will be, which will fall short of the requirements for energy efficiency labelling. I appreciate that it takes time to put the legislation in place and regulations arising out of it, and so on, but some steps should be taken now to ensure that the materials used in house-building, design and insulation are such that homes under construction will be at the top of the energy labelling requirements.

It seems quite unfair that the Government knows that from next January people re-selling or letting their houses must produce a certificate of energy efficiency. Nevertheless, the Government allows construction to continue in a way that is not energy efficient. I agree with Deputy Cuffe that the Government is responding to pressure from the construction industry, and allied industries, which are quite hostile to the development of energy efficient means of construction.

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