Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 138: To ask the Taoiseach the amount of electricity used in the offices of his Department at Government Buildings for the past three years; if he will provide a monthly breakdown for this period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4364/08]

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Electricity and gas supplies to Government Buildings/Leinster House are metered through the Houses of the Oireachtas. The actual quantity of electricity consumed by my Department is unavailable, as until recently the supply was not separately metered. The Office of Public Works are currently in the process of implementing proposals for a new energy centre for the complex, the details of which were outlined in a presentation to the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission on 12 December, 2007.

Over the last three, years the OPW has been installing web-based energy monitoring units in all the large State buildings (circa 200) which monitor and record electrical and heating fuel consumption every 15 minutes. The data can be accessed via a dedicated web site. The target is to reduce carbon emissions in each building by 15% through local energy conservation campaigns, energy workshops and close monitoring of the performance of heating/air conditioning equipment. It will be possible for a Department to monitor the energy reductions via the internet site. In late 2007, the OPW installed sub-metering in my own Department on electrical supplies which will facilitate the separate monitoring and measurement of our energy consumption and allow us to target savings in this area. The first full years data will be available in late 2008.