From next July, new building regulations mean all houses will have to incorporate special features to reduce the threat from the naturally radioactive gas, radon, which is prevalent in the ground in many parts of the country.
In a move to make the home a safer and more accessible place, the Department of the Environment's design changes - most of which will be mandatory - will also require new houses to have fire-safety alarms connected to the electricity supply, and not merely battery-operated ones. Moreover, every bedroom window will have to be openable and of a size that an adult can use as a means of escape in a fire.
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, is not phasing out the front doorstep, as in Britain, but new homes will be required to embrace the concept of a "lifetime adaptable house" by 2000, by making buildings "socially accessible" for those with physical disability.
And in an effort to promote the idea of the "sustainable house", new houses will indicate their "energy efficiency" through the voluntary application of their thermal insulation performance, known as the "U value".
The radon measures, applying from July 1st, are in response to evidence that the naturally occurring gas may be associated with cancers where there is insufficient ventilation.
Mr Dempsey accepted that a more radical approach was required on technical guidelines for work on listed buildings.
The new energy-saving measures relate to insulation, "thermal bridging", air infiltration, and space and water heating controls. The guidelines are expected to achieve an energy-saving in space heating of up to 10 per cent.
"This will also achieve a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from buildings and assist Ireland's contribution towards the overall greenhouse gas emission reduction target agreed recently at the Climate Change Conference in Kyoto," Mr Dempsey said.
The Minister hopes that a "voluntary energy-rating of houses", showing how energy-efficient they are, will be applied in the marketing of houses and this will open the way for mandatory energy-rating in about five years.
