The first delivery of the QualiBuild Foundation Energy Skills training will start later this month, and the course is open to all building construction workers to apply.

Highway Wholesalers, the Waterford-based supplier of kitchen, bathroom and water treatment appliances, will have the Recoup wastewater heat recovery system on display at the Energy Show in Dublin next week.

Irish minister for energy Alex White has announced a boost in the level of grants available to householders who want to undertake energy efficiency improvements. The cash value of every grant available to householders under the Better Energy Homes Scheme has been increased by between 25 to 50%. In addition, a bonus payment has been introduced which will see householders receive bonus payments if they complete three or more energy efficiency improvements.

Passive House Plus analyses Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council's plan to make the passive house standard mandatory for all new buildings in the district. 

Saint Gobain, the global building materials supplier, has announced that it will donate €100,000 to the Peter McVerry Trust. The money will be used to refurbish six apartments in a disused building on Pim Street in Dublin 8. The project will be complete by February 2015.

Last week, the German-Irish Chamber of Commerce showcased five Irish low energy building projects that incorporated German energy effiiciency technology. The projects include a certified passive house, a radiant heating ceiling system, and two CHP units. 

The line-up for the self-contained outdoor units now boasts 5kW, 8.5kW, 11.2kW and 14kW units, to make Ecodan suitable for almost any situation.

Dublin’s old city wall in Woodquay provided the backdrop on Wednesday 15 October to a conference, titled 'Better Than Best Practice', on the urgent need to upskill the Irish construction industry. 

Nearly a third of construction professionals did not know about the nearly-zero energy requirement for all new buildings by the year 2020, according to a survey of Passive House Plus readers.

In this blog post, Paul Doran recalls the challenges and lessons of building a low energy home on a tight budget for his family. 

The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources launched the energy policy green paper for Ireland on May 12, marking the beginning of a ten-week public consultation on the future shape of Ireland’s energy policy.

Last week's Better Building conference in Dublin heard from experts speaker on the present and future of the construction industry in Ireland. Topics at this year’s conference pushed the building industry to think beyond energy efficiency and consider full life cycle costs of materials, transportation issues, and living buildings.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland Energy Show 2014 takes place at the RDS in Dublin on 12 and 13 March.

That’s the question I want to ask today. I’m talking mostly about the situation in Ireland, because it’s the one I’m more familiar with things over here — particularly with regards to building regulations. But the same might apply to the UK.

AIB has announced the launched of a €350m “new homes development fund” that it says will support the construction of new homes in Dublin, Cork and Galway. The bank is inviting applications from “borrowers who can demonstrate prior experience in residential development”.

Check out this video below of Passive House Institute founder Prof Wolfgang Feist speaking at last year's See The Light conference in Dublin, which was organised by the Passive House Association of Ireland.

Ecocem Materials, producer of environmentally friendly cement, has announced that the company has seen an increase in sales and has reached a significant milestone of exceeding one million tonnes of product sold in the last twelve months. Ecocem Ireland is also celebrating its tenth birthday in 2013.

An Taoiseach Mr Enda Kenny has opened one of the world’s "most advanced research and development facilities for space and water heating technologies" at the Glen Dimplex site in Dunleer, Co Louth.

The Irish Department of Environment has confirmed to Passive House Plus that its proposed independent committee on climate change will be an expert rather than stakeholder group.

A new online passive house tutorial video series has just been launched by Energyquarter. The series is hosted by Tomás O’ Leary from the Passive House Academy, accredited Passive House Institute trainers.

SEAI last week announced that Better Energy Homes, its home energy upgrade grant programme, would continue through 2014.

See The Light, Ireland's passive house conference, takes place next Friday October 25 in Dublin. Passive House pioneer Prof Wolfgang Feist will be the keynote speaker. 

The Irish Independent reported earlier in the week that the Irish construction sector is set for a stimulus package in next week's budget, including a cut to the 13.5% rate of Vat. 

Construction has begun on what is expected to be Ireland's first certified passive house pharmacy. The project in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, was designed by Paul McNally Architecture.

Wolfgang Feist, one of the creators of the passive house concept and a founder and director of the Passive House Institute, will speak in Dublin on 25 October at the 2013 See The Light conference.

Check out this video from Saint Gobain on their technical academy in Kingscourt, Co Cavan. The academy showcases the company's products and provides training in their application. The company said that video is designed to provide an insight into the kind of courses that are available — most of which are free, and contain a mix of theory and hands-on training. Saint Gobain's brands included Isover, Gyproc and Weber.

Over 100 experts in ultra low energy building will address the International Passive House Conference, which takes place in Frankfurt this weekend. Speakers will present a wide range of case studies and research that, according to the Passive House Institute, demonstrates that passive house works "in all climates and for practically any type of building".

The second Better Building conference will be held on 24 April in the Croke Park conference centre, Dublin. The inaugural conference at Royal Hospital Kilmainham last year sold out with nearly 400 attendees.

We tip our proverbial hats to Cork-based timber frame manufacturer Eco Timber Frame who have posted time-lapse video of one of their recent passive house projects online.

Isover Ireland held their annual Energy Efficiency Awards in Dublin on Friday 1 March in Dublin. The awards recognise low energy renovation and new build projects in both the residential and commercial sectors. Isover award ceremonies are held in individual countries, with national winners going forward to Isover's European Energy Efficiency Awards. At the Dublin ceremony, Isover announced that the 2014 European awards will take place in Ireland.