Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 June 2026
10. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the position regarding the annual usage of water by data centres in Ireland; if this is something that is recorded by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44328/26]
View answerArticle 12 of the Energy Efficiency Directive 2023/1791 (‘EED’) provides for an obligation for Member States to require that owners and operators of certain sized data centres monitor and make publicly available, subject to Union and national law protecting trade and business secrets and confidentiality, information on key metrics on their energy and sustainability performance. The required indicators relate to energy consumption, cooling, waste heat utilisation, water usage and renewable energy use, among others.
Article 12 of the EED is supplemented by the directly effective delegated Regulation 2024/1364 which requires the same in-scope data centres, as under Article 12, to report these key performance indicators on their energy performance to a confidential EU database on data centres established and operated by the European Commission.
Reporting of this information by data centres in Ireland to this database is ongoing and the Commission is responsible for making it publicly available in an aggregated manner. This information is being used to establish an EU wide rating scheme to measure the energy performance and sustainability of data centres. I am advised that work on this initiative is being advanced by the Commission.
The two reporting requirements apply every year by 15 May. With respect to the transposition of Article 12, my Department has progressed drafting to an advanced stage. This includes the assignment of compliance oversight which my Department is seeking to implement as soon as possible. My Department continues to keep stakeholders and the Commission updated in relation to this matter.
More generally, water usage management and conservation across commercial and industrial (non-domestic) sectors, including data centres, is an operational matter under the remit of Uisce Éireann. Since 1 January 2014, Uisce Éireann has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operations at national, regional and local levels, under section 7 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013. Uisce Éireann has a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives that can be contacted via email to oireachtasmembers@water.ie or by telephone 0818 578 578.
