Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 360: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will review the operation of the regulations requiring the production of a building energy rating certificate when a building is being offered for sale or letting in view of the additional costs to a vendor or a lessor who may be forced to sell or lease and who may have no funds to cover the cost of the certificate; his views on whether, on a temporary basis, a requirement to produce a certificate with a contract and other documents should be adequate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40114/09]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings, which was transposed into Irish law by the European Communities (Energy Performance of Buildings) Regulations 2006 - 2008, introduced a requirement for a Building Energy Rating (BER) system.

The Regulations require a person offering a building for sale or letting to produce a copy of the BER certificate and advisory report in relation to the building to any person who expresses an interest in availing of the sale or letting. The BER certificate and advisory report serve to enable prospective purchasers or tenants to take the energy performance of a building into account when making decisions in relation to sales or lettings and to compare in a standard format the energy performance of a range of buildings available to them. There are no proposals under consideration in my Department at present in relation to varying the legal requirement for the production of BER certificates and advisory reports in situations where a vendor or a lessor may be forced to sell or lease a property.