Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 142: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the actions taken by his Department and its agencies to date to ensure maximum energy efficiency and minimum carbon footprint in their daily operations; the cost of these actions; the steps he will take in the remainder of the first half of 2007 toward the goal of reducing energy consumption in his Department and its agencies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8323/07]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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To reduce energy consumption in the Department and to ensure maximum energy efficiency and the minimum carbon footprint in its daily operations, my Department through its Green Team, which was established some years ago, has over the past few years initiated the following actions:

Ensured that all lighting in the Department's eight buildings is switched off overnight;

Ensured that the Office of Public Works, which looks after the replacement of electric light bulbs in my Department's buildings, uses energy efficient bulbs and long life bulbs wherever possible when electric light bulbs are being replaced;

Ensured that the central heating arrangements for the Department's buildings are switched on and off to achieve optimum energy efficiency;

Ensured that the staff in the Department have been exhorted to:

1. switch off all their computer equipment (base units, monitors and peripheral devices) at the end of each working day;

2. switch off their PC monitors at lunch time and while attending meetings etc; and

3. ensure that the last person leaving each individual office switches off all electric lights, printers, photocopiers and heaters.

My Department also operates a Travel Pass Scheme for interested members of staff in order to encourage staff to use public transport in lieu of car transport. These initiatives have had no adverse cost implications for my Department and have resulted in energy cost savings, which would be impossible to quantify.

My Department will continue to monitor its own energy consumption and will, where practicable, continue to implement steps to ensure maximum energy efficiency and the minimum carbon footprint in the daily activities of the Department.

As regards the agencies of my Department, the Deputy will appreciate that ensuring maximum energy efficiency and minimum carbon footprint in their daily operations is an operational issue for the agencies concerned and the Deputy can rest assured that the agencies have taken similar actions to my Department over the past few years and will continue to do so.