Implementation of minimum housing insulation standards was a matter for local authorities, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said.
He was replying to Green Party leader Trevor Sargent, who said that, in recent weeks, a number of people had visited his clinics to complain that they were living in houses built to a standard which left them cold and having to use a lot of gas and electric and open fires.
Agreeing that anybody in sub-standard housing would be in difficulty in current weather conditions, Mr Ahern said that legislation such as the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill and other Bills in the past 20 years had all sought to improve insulation standards. "I think standards have improved dramatically, particularly in local authority houses. The implementation of existing legislation and related prosecutions are matters for local authorities. This is not something that relates to central government."
Mr Ahern said there was a new EU energy directive and a building control Bill which would further improve insulation standards. Resources had been made available to help local authorities with old people's homes, insulation and energy-efficiency grants.
