Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It was a very interesting debate. Before Deputy Martin Kenny leaves the Chamber, I want to say I am a huge supporter of hemp as a material. Certainly, if we look back at some of the points raised by Deputies on public procurement and it being a constraint or that we have not advanced enough, there is sufficient flexibility to incorporate sustainable materials in public procurement guidelines in terms of technical specifications. I will give an example. In the past decade, there has been a refurbishment of St. Mary's Cathedral in Kilkenny. The lead architect company was McCullough Mulvin. Neil McCullough, who is deceased unfortunately, was a wonderful and visionary architect. He specified hempcrete as insulation material. If the Deputy ever gets to Kilkenny, he should look at the interior of St. Mary's. He specified the use of hempcrete in that building. Public procurement is not constrained, therefore. If an architect specifies a certain type of material and that material is accepted in the tendering process, there is no problem. It is important to put out this message with regard to the choice of materials for contracting authorities, designers and technical advisers. All of that is there if it is designed into the building.

I agree with Deputy Kenny wholeheartedly. It ties into what Deputy Bruton raised with regard to recovered materials. We absolutely should find a mechanism to do this. I will certainly take back the points he has made on developing a hemp industry. I believe it to be an invaluable material. It is possible to grow it on poorer soils. I will not say where, but-----

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