Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 289: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the progress which has been made to date in 2005 in respect of the plan specified under the national climate change strategy to require vendors of pre-1991 houses to produce an energy efficiency certificate from a competent contractor, showing the annual energy consumption, including cost, of the premises; the number of such certificates that have been produced since 2000 to date in 2005; steps he intends to take to ensure that all persons purchasing pre-1991 houses will receive such a certificate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37173/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The national climate change strategy, 2000, contained a proposal for the production of energy efficiency certificates by vendors of older, pre-building regulations 1991, houses.

This proposal was overtaken by the subsequent publication, in May 2001, of a draft EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings. This directive, 2002/91/EC, was formally adopted on 19 December 2002. The directive provides for the introduction of building energy performance certificates, to be known in Ireland as building energy rating certificates, for a much wider range of buildings covering both newly constructed buildings and existing buildings, when existing buildings are sold or let.

The draft action plan for the implementation of the directive in Ireland, April 2005, provides for the phased introduction of the mandatory building energy rating certificate, over the period 2007-09, for newly constructed dwellings, with effect from 1 January 2007; for newly constructed non-domestic buildings, with effect from 1 January 2008; for existing buildings when sold or let, with effect from 1 January 2009.

A copy of the draft action plan has been placed in the Oireachtas Library. The definitive action plan is being drawn up, in the light of all submissions received during the public consultation process on the draft plan, and will be submitted to the EU Commission shortly.