Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 April 2022
82. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the extent to which carbon reduction can be achieved through the greater use of wood in the construction of houses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18653/22]
View answerWe are committed to working with industry stakeholders to increase the use of low carbon materials and technologies in the construction and renovation of buildings in Ireland, informed by evolving EU standards and by best practice in other jurisdictions. Action 197 of the Climate Action Plan sets out that the Office of Public Works is developing a roadmap to promote greater use of lower-carbon building material in construction. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland are developing an embodied carbon building rating methodology.
On 30 March 2022, the European Commission launched a package of European Green Deal proposals to make sustainable products the norm in the EU, boost circular business models and empower consumers for the green transition. These include:
- new rules to make almost all physical goods on the EU market more friendly to the environment, circular, and energy efficient throughout their whole lifecycle from the design phase through to daily use, repurposing and end-of-life (As announced in the Circular Economy Action Plan ),
- a proposal on new rules to empower consumers in the green transition so that consumers are better informed about the environmental sustainability of products and better protected against greenwashing, and
- a proposal to Revise the Construction Products Regulation to boost the internal market for construction products and ensure that the regulatory framework in place is fit for making the built environment deliver on our sustainability and climate objectives.
The Building Regulations 1997-2021 set out the legal requirements for the construction of new buildings (including houses), extensions to existing buildings as well as for material alterations and certain material changes of use to existing buildings. Their aim is to provide for the safety and welfare of people in and about buildings. The minimum performance requirements that a building must achieve are set out in the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations. These requirements are set out in 12 parts (classified as Parts A to M). The Building Regulations are set out in functional terms. They are performance based and technology/material neutral. Primary responsibility for compliance with the Building Regulations rests with the designers, builders and owners of buildings.
I.S.440: 2009+A1:2014 Timber Frame Construction, Dwellings and other Buildings is the Irish standard on timber frame construction (as referenced in Technical Guidance Document A 2012 and Technical Guidance Document B Vol 2 2017). I.S. 440 refers to responsibilities, materials, design, manufacture, construction details, site work and services.
Housing for All commits that the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, supported by my Department, will promote a culture of innovation in residential construction. This will be achieved through, the development of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and the establishment of a Centre of Excellence Demonstration Park for MMC.
Housing for All also provides that the intended role of the new Construction Technology Centre (CTC), which is under development by Enterprise Ireland, beyond the standard remit of Technology Centres in general for its first three years of operation in order to prioritise residential construction, in particular by incorporating:
- structures and funding to enable innovation in residential construction prior to the National Standards Authority of Ireland
- a proactive role in strengthening the residential construction value chain;
- promotion, development and support for innovation / MMCs using digital and manufacturing technology;
- support for SMEs to develop scale and to adopt MMCs and Building Information Modelling techniques for residential construction; and
- support for digitisation in the manufacturing sector for residential construction e.g. digitally controlled manufacturing equipment.
