The building industry could tap into a new market - worth between £3.5bn and £6.5bn per year - if the UK developed policies, skills and financial incentives to upgrade housing stock to make it greener and more energy efficient.

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan TD has published the independent Study on the Comparative Merits of Overhead Electricity Transmission Lines Versus Underground Cables.

Kenmare, Co. Kerry is the overall winner of Ireland's Best Kept Town competition, 2008.

An Ulster primary school has been awarded the UK's first top grade under the new Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) scheme for its energy efficiency.

C-Plan (Carbon Planner) allows local authorities and developers to assess and reduce the carbon impact of new developments.

Ireland's first card-operated public service station has opened on the Aran Islands.

The conference - 'Sustainable Architecture Now - Delivering Exemplar Buildings, Setting Future Standards' - will take place on 22nd July 2008 at Dublin Castle.

The new version of the BRE Green Guide to Specification is now available online, giving designers and specifiers easy-to-use guidance on how to make the best environmental choices when selecting construction materials and components.

It is imperative that the National Development Plan be implemented as planned, according to Davis Langdon PKS - one of Irelands biggest construction firms.

“The challenge of history is to recover the past and introduce it to the present” - said John Gormley TD, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, at the annual RIAI Irish Architecture Awards at the CHQ, IFSC, Dublin Docklands.