New regulations which require developers to produce energy ratings for new homes will not apply to the vast majority of new homes that come on the market this year, it has emerged. Liam Reid, Political Reporter reports.
The regulations, which came into force yesterday, stipulate that every new home that comes on the market is required to have an energy rating provided by an independent inspector.
However, the Department of the Environment has confirmed that the new rating system will apply initially only to new homes which receive planning permission from January 1st, 2007.
This will mean that the majority of new housing developments over the next two years will not be required to have a rating. This is because of the long lead-in time for housing developments between obtaining planning permission and completion of construction.
It is now expected that the rating system will not become effective until January 2009, when it comes into force for all homes put up for sale or on the rental market.
The regulation, called the Building Energy Rating (BER) system, is the latest measure in the Government's climate change strategy, flowing from Kyoto obligations, which is encountering significant delays in implementation.
Introduced in 2002 through a European directive, it aims to operate in the same way as energy ratings for electrical appliances, providing higher ratings for better insulated homes. The ratings are aimed at encouraging better insulation of new and existing homes by allowing consumers to compare the energy efficiencies of homes they are interested in buying.
Under EU law governments were required to implement the directive by January 1st, 2007.
Last year the Department of the Environment indicated that the rating system would only apply to houses granted planning permission after July 1st, 2006. This was seen as a concession to developers of new housing estates. However, when the regulations were published it emerged that this concession had been extended to December 31st, 2006, although houses are required to have undergone "substantial work" by June 2008.
The latest delay was criticised by businessman Gerry McCaughey, founder of timber home builders Century, who has been campaigning on the issue. He said it meant thousands of additional homes would be likely to have poorer insulation. "The Irish Government just can't seem to do anything that impacts negatively on the construction industry," he said.
Yesterday, a spokesman for the Department of the Environment rejected suggestions that the latest delay had resulted from lobbying by developers. He said the extension had been to allow "additional lead-in time" for people to become acquainted with the regulations.
Privately, officials in the Department blamed the delay on the fact that the system of independent inspectors who will provide the ratings was not in place.