THE "overwhelming need to address the nation's energy extravagance" was stressed yesterday by the Minister of State for Energy, Mr Emmet Stagg, when he opened the new headquarters of the Irish Energy Centre in Dublin.
The centre, a joint initiative by his Department and Forbairt, has a remit to reduce the Republic's energy bill by £50 million a year, mainly through a series of EUfunded programmes aimed at encouraging energy conservation.
Mr Stagg said the new building, in the grounds of Forbairt's Glasnevin complex, was a showcase for those in industry and the construction trade who might wish to pursue a more environmentally and energy conscious architecture.
These concerns had been built into every facet of the building by its architects, Ms Eileen Fitzgerald and Prof Owen Lewis.
As a result, its annual energy bill would be between 40 and 50 per cent lower than office buildings of the same size. "For the sake of our environment, our economy and our future, we have no option but to seriously address the indifference with which we have generally approached energy use, Mr Stagg said. "The time for action is neither tomorrow nor the day after, it is now."
