Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Question 363: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the works or measures that have taken place in 2007 to make his Departmental buildings more environmentally friendly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32388/07]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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There are currently three buildings occupied by my Department, two of which are located in Dublin at Kildare Street and South Frederick Street where my Department is not the main tenant in either building. This limits to some extent the action that can be taken directly by my Department to make them environmentally friendly. The third is at Fossa in County Kerry, which accommodates an advance party of 70 staff in the context of decentralisation of my Department to Killarney.

During 2007, an Energy Efficiency Committee was established in my Department in the context of the Partnership process to examine energy usage and raise awareness among staff of the need for energy efficiency. In conjunction with the Government's Power of One campaign, the committee organised a number of presentations for staff to outline tips on energy saving actions, both at work and in the home. An Efficiency Suggestions Scheme competition was also held, which invited staff members to make suggestions on making the Department more energy efficient.

I was delighted to personally present the prizes for the best suggestions to staff in July last. All suggestions submitted have recently been published and provided to all staff in my Department.

These initiatives resulted in notices being placed at electrical equipment and light switches in my Department to remind staff to switch off lights and equipment to save energy. In this context, staff are requested to switch off information technology and any electrical office equipment when not in use and particularly at the end of the working day. Furthermore, all personal computer monitor screens purchased by my Department in 2007 are flat-screen technology, which are far more energy efficient than the old Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitors used.

Where my Department is the only tenant, in the building in Fossa, it is in the process of switching over to Airtricity. This will provide wind-generated electricity to this building. My Department has also requested that the OPW carry out works on the exterior lighting of the building to ensure that as soon as the building and car park has been vacated of staff, all the exterior lighting can be switched off, with just a single light over the front door remaining on all night for security purposes. Previously the full exterior lights had remained on throughout the night.

In the context of the implementation of decentralisation, construction is currently under way on a new headquarters in Killarney, which will be a "green" building, which will provide a pleasant working environment and yet be economical to run. The design of the building, which has been carefully conceived in line with an exacting brief provided by the Office of Public Works, makes use of many environmentally friendly and energy saving features in line with best practice, nationally and internationally.

It is also my Department's policy to promote the increased usage of recycled paper as much as possible. My Department also has a system in place in all of its locations to ensure that all used waste paper is issued for recycling.

My Department's new IT Strategy for 2008-2010, which is currently in preparation, will address all possible means of maximising IT facilities and communications in terms of energy efficiency and making my Department more environmentally friendly.