Sir, - It is encouraging to hear the Minister for the Environment's call for energy-efficient housing. Perhaps he could persuade his colleague, the Minister for Finance, to reduce the punitive rate of VAT currently levied on one of the most energy-efficient forms of housing, log houses.
These houses are low-emission, thermo-efficient, and sourced from sustainable arctic forests.
Yet in this country the Government, in contrast to its EU counterparts, levies a whopping 21 per cent VAT, a measure which seems designed to discourage anyone from building one.
If the Government is really serious about encouraging energy-efficient housing, when can we expect a decrease in the VAT rate? - Yours, etc.,
Brenda Blair, LogArt Tivoli Terrace North, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.