Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 363: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number and nature of the prosecutions taken by local authorities or his Department regarding non-compliance by developers with Part B of the building regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5690/07]

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 364: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number and nature of the prosecutions taken by local authorities or his Department regarding non-compliance by developers with Part M of the building regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5691/07]

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 365: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number and nature of the prosecutions taken by local authorities or his Department regarding non-compliance by developers with Part L of the building regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5692/07]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 363 to 365, inclusive, together.

Responsibility for enforcement of the building regulations is a matter for the 37 local building control authorities. Half-yearly statistics on enforcement of the regulations, furnished by local building control authorities to my Department, do not give a breakdown of the prosecutions initiated for non-compliance with the 12 Parts (A to M) of the Regulations. However, the statistical returns for the period January-June 2006, show that 15 Enforcement Notices were served by building control authorities under the Building Control Act 1990 for non-compliance with the building regulations. In addition, 6 summary prosecutions were taken by the authorities.

My Department's circular letter BC 14/2006 has requested local building control authorities to include, in future statistical returns, starting with returns for the revised July–December 2006, a breakdown as to what specific Part or Parts of the building regulations is/are the subject of enforcement notice or legal proceedings initiated by the authorities for non-compliance with the building regulations.

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 366: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he has received a draft or final version of a report on the energy performance of Irish housing funded by Sustainable Energy Ireland and carried out by the City of Dublin Energy Management Agency suggesting that only 2% of new housing units comply with Part L of the building regulations; his views on the veracity of this figure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5693/07]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has not received a copy of the draft or final version of the Report referred to in the Question, although it has already had access to an extract from the executive summary to the Report. I understand that Sustainable Energy Ireland intend to publish the Report in the next eight weeks.

My Department will not be commenting on the contents of the Report until the full version of it is received and examined. I would expect that the Report's analysis will be valuable in guiding future policy and enforcement arrangements in relation to Part L requirements.