Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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654. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans to ensure buildings (details supplied) do not breach a requirement; and his further plans to ensure such transitional arrangements do not lead to new public buildings failing to comply with the nearly zero energy building targets after 31 December 2018 and all new buildings after 31 December 2020. [26184/16]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings (recast) requires Member States to ensure all new buildings will be nearly zero-energy by 31 December 2020 and all new buildings occupied and owned by public authorities will be nearly zero-energy by 31 December 2018. The Directive broadly defines a nearly zero-energy building as a building with a high energy performance where the very low amount of energy required should, to a very significant extent, be met by energy from renewable sources, including renewable energy produced onsite or nearby. The statutory minimum energy performance standards for buildings are addressed under Part L (Conservation of Fuel and Energy) of the Building Regulations and the accompanying Technical Guidance Documents.

Against this background, Ireland has been making significant progress in terms of both improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon dioxide emissions within the built environment. Taking the energy efficiency requirements established in 2005 as the benchmark, the Building Regulations (Amendment) Regulations 2007 set the requirements necessary to achieve a 40% improvement (over the 2005 standards) in the energy and carbon performance of new dwellings. The requirements were subsequently upgraded under the Building Regulations (Part L Amendment) Regulations 2011, which has delivered a 60% aggregate improvement (relative to 2005 standards) in both the energy and carbon performance of new dwellings. My Department envisages one further upgrade to the Part L requirements in order to ensure Ireland meets our ‘nearly zero energy’ obligation for dwellings by 31 December 2020.

Part L of the Building Regulations was also revised in 2008 in respect of buildings other than dwellings which introduced the methodology (known as NEAP or the Non-domestic Energy Assessment Procedure) to measure the energy demand and carbon dioxide emissions for new buildings other than dwellings. A further review, which is being developed in conjunction with public sector bodies, of Part L in respect of buildings other than dwellings which is now at an advanced stage will set out the statutory requirements for nearly zero energy for new non-domestic buildings, including new buildings occupied and owned by public authorities, in order to meet the requirements of the Directive.

The current review of Part L (Conservation of Fuel and Energy) in respect of buildings other than dwellings will be informed by a comprehensive public consultation process which my Department intends to announce shortly.