Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment

Scope / time period Please search records from 1 January 2003 to present, or the earliest date for which relevant records are held. This period includes Ireland’s preparation for, and implementation of, the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and subsequent policy evolution. Environmental information requested (non-exhaustive) 1. Any policy papers, briefing notes, submissions to Ministers, impact assessments, or internal guidance held by the Department that discuss: • the scope and objectives of BER or related energy-performance policy, and • whether indoor environmental quality, radon risk, ventilation, moisture/mould, or health impacts were considered. 2. Any correspondence (including emails, letters, or meeting records) between the Department and SEAI, DHLGH, EPA, HSE, NSAI, or EU institutions referencing: • radon or radon risk, • ventilation or airtightness, • indoor air quality, moisture or mould, • or health and wellbeing impacts associated with energy-efficiency or retrofit policy. 3. Any records of interdepartmental groups, committees, consultations, or stakeholder engagements where potential interactions between energy efficiency objectives and human health or indoor environmental quality were discussed. 4. Any documents addressing whether Ireland’s national environmental or public-health context, including its elevated radon risk profile, warranted specific consideration or policy treatment when transposing or implementing EU energy-performance requirements. 5. Any records reflecting consideration of potential trade-offs between climate/energy objectives and indoor environmental quality or health, including whether safeguards or complementary measures were discussed. 6. Any records, memoranda, briefing notes, or correspondence indicating that radon, indoor air quality, ventilation-related health impacts, or moisture/mould were considered to fall outside the scope of energy-performance or BER policy, including any rationale recorded for such exclusion or deferral to other regulatory frameworks. On 28/01/2026 the request was refined to: Timeframe • Records from 2014 to present, corresponding with the publication and implementation of the National Radon Control Strategy (NRCS). Subject focus • Records relating to: • the BER Advisory Report and its revision to include information on radon; • consideration of radon risk within energy performance / BER policy; • any assessment of the interaction between energy efficiency measures, airtightness, ventilation, and radon exposure. Clarification of scope (to avoid ambiguity) For clarity, the request is focused on policy development and consideration, including: • briefing notes, policy papers, submissions, and decision records relating to: • why radon information was incorporated into the BER Advisory Report; • the extent to which radon risk was treated as advisory versus risk-mitigating; • whether ventilation trade-offs associated with energy efficiency measures were considered in that context. I am not seeking: • routine administrative correspondence, • individual dwelling files, • or records duplicated in other departments’ holdings.