Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

It used to be the case that people discussed the performance of their cars in terms of miles per gallon, but a new topic of conversation concerns the energy performance of one's home and the cost of gas and electricity. The Power of One campaign seeks to make us much more environmentally friendly and there are two reasons behind the great support therefor. These include the cost implications of energy consumption and concerns about climate change.

The EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings was published in January 2003 and it will result in the need to have an energy performance certificate when selling one's home in the future. The Irish Government sought to delay the improvement of building standards and therefore thousands of homes have been built to a lower standard and will not achieve an "A" rating. Given the amount being paid for new homes and the enormous profits being made, it is the very least a purchaser should expect. For a household which has forked out the equivalent of a lottery sum to purchase a starter home and which wants to move on as the family grows, it will mean having to shell out thousands more on experts to advise on how to get an "A" rating. Remedial works must follow in order to achieve the much sought after rating, which will be in demand from more environmentally astute purchasers. In the meantime the family will continue to pay through the nose to heat the sub-standard home.

In whose interest was it to postpone the introduction of energy rating? To see the special relationship between Fianna Fáil and the construction industry, one needs to look no further. Despite the EU legislation being in place, any housing units that received planning permission prior to the end of December 2006 need not comply or produce certificates on energy efficiency. However, who is going to buy a pig in a poke? Who will purchase a house that costs a fortune to heat, where remedial works are required when a comparable dwelling with an "A" rated energy certificate is available for the same price? This is nothing short of an absolute scandal.

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