Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 505: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the incentives (details supplied) and requirements which exist to encourage people to build environmentally friendly houses. [36340/05]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Financial incentives such as direct grants for the construction of environmentally friendly houses are not available from my Department. However, my Department, in conjunction with other Departments and agencies, supports and promotes a number of measures to achieve more environmentally friendly houses.

As regards energy efficiency, many effective measures to improve energy efficiency in houses can be achieved at negative or zero equivalent annual cost to the householder. Information on a broad range of energy efficiency measures may be obtained from Sustainable Energy Ireland. Under its house of tomorrow programme, Sustainable Energy Ireland focuses on improving the energy performance of Irish housing. The main focus of the programme is on stimulating widespread uptake of superior sustainable energy planning, design, specification and construction practices in both new home building and refurbishment of the existing stock. Grants available under this scheme are principally designed to support demonstration projects and are available for a number of housing units and not for one-off houses.

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, 2002/91/EC, will also introduce requirements which will encourage the construction of environmentally friendly houses. Among the requirements of this directive is the introduction of a buildings energy rating, BER, certificate which would be required when buildings are constructed, sold or rented out.

A draft action plan for the implementation of the directive in Ireland was published by Sustainable Energy Ireland, SEI, for public consultation earlier this year. The action plan was drafted by an inter-departmental working group drawn from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and SEI. Work is now at an advanced stage in revising the draft plan to take account of the feedback. The definitive action plan is due to be submitted to the EU Commission by the end of 2005. The building control Bill, which is expected to be introduced before the end of the year, will include inter alia legislation to give effect to some of the requirements of the directive. It is also planned to amend Part L, conservation of fuel and energy, of the national building regulations to give effect to other requirements of the directive.

Finally, the question of encouraging the voluntary installation of energy efficient and renewable energy technology in newly built dwellings is being actively considered in a current review of Part L, conservation of fuel and energy, of the building regulations and the related technical guidance document, TGD-L.