Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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461. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide details for the introduction of minimum BERs in the private rental sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1676/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The National Energy Security Framework (NESF) provides a single overarching and initial response to address Ireland’s energy security needs in the context of the war in Ukraine. It coordinates work connected to energy security across the electricity, gas and oil sectors and sets out a ‘whole-of-Government’ response to the challenges posed to energy security and energy affordability.

Under Response 17 of the NESF, the Government committed to building on the detailed sectoral analysis of the National Heat Study to develop proposals for regulatory options to accelerate the phase-out of fossil fuels for space and water heating in all new buildings, with limited exemptions such as industrial processes. 

Following on from this, in the Climate Action Plan 2023, the Government committed to the acceleration of zero-emissions heating in residential buildings.

To facilitate delivery on these commitments, the Government has established a Heat and Built Environment Delivery Taskforce and will publish a new National Policy Statement on Heat to guide the Government’s overall response to the National Heat Study across all sectors, which will take into account the need for a medium-term pathway for the phase-out of fossil fuels for space and water heating.  

A detailed roadmap to accelerate the electrification of heating and the phase out of fossil fuels for heating will be published, including the required policy and regulatory instruments.  All options are currently under consideration, including the requirement to ensure a just transition to any alternative heat sources. As a consequence, there has been no commitment made thus far by Government to phase out oil and gas boilers in existing homes within a specified timeframe.