Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 273: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the position regarding the notification procedures under European Union law that will have to be complied with in respect of the proposal to bring in minimum standards that all light bulbs must meet; and the maximum amount of time that the Irish Government can be required to delay its proposal under the legislation that provides for the notification procedures. [2938/08]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I refer to the reply to Questions Nos. 66, 111 and 116 of 18 December 2007. I met with the Vice-President of the European Commission, Günter Verheugen, and the Commissioner for Environment, Stavros Dimas, in Brussels on 9 January 2008 to outline the Government's plans to introduce minimum energy efficiency standards for light bulbs.

European Commission Directive 98/34/EC, which lays down procedures for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations, specifies that Member States are required to notify draft compulsory standards to the European Commission. Member States are required to wait three months after making a notification under the Directive for the Commission and the other Member States to respond. If a Member State raises an objection, it is understood that the Commission has to take a position in the matter and the Member State may be required to postpone adoption of the measure for up to 18 months. However, Commissioner Verheugen, who is responsible for competitiveness and internal market issues related to goods, assured me of the Commission's support for Ireland's intention to introduce the energy efficiency standards from early next year. He confirmed that, in the light of Ireland's initiative, the Commission would be ready to accelerate its own regulation in this area as much as possible. We agreed that Ireland would work closely with the Commission to ensure consistency between our approaches.