Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 June 2026
11. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the energy usage of data centres in Dublin; the way in which this is affecting energy prices for consumers; the number of new data centres to open over the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44479/26]
View answerData centres are important for Ireland’s economic and digital future and are a key part of our value proposition for foreign direct investment. When considering the impact of data centres, we must also weigh wider economic benefits — tax revenues, employment, broader digital infrastructure value and significant support and linkages provided to other high value sectors of the economy. Currently the industry employs 19,500 directly. In addition, Ireland’s technology sector, underpinned by digital infrastructure in data centres, accounted for employment of 182,900 people in Q4 2024 - equivalent to 7% of Ireland’s total workforce.
While data centres are large energy users, unlike other European countries that have heavy-industry bases, Ireland’s industrial electricity demand is primarily concentrated in our digital economy – this is our core energy-intensive industry.
The Value of Data Centres to Ireland is an independent report commissioned by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment identifies there are 72 operational, grid-connected data centre buildings as of 2025 and these are predominantly located in the Greater Dublin Area.
Historical figures for metered electricity consumption by data centres are compiled and published by Central Statistics Office (CSO). Their recent analysis suggests that circa 50% of metered electricity consumption in the Dublin/Meath region in 2024 is attributable to data centre load.
As an energy intensive industry, the rapid pace of growth over the previous decade presents challenges in terms of our energy infrastructure where there are current and real network constraints in facilitating new connections, particularly in the Dublin region. The Government is committed to delivering a balanced approach to facilitate sustainable data centre demand while also ensuring overall energy security and affordability for consumers and businesses. The Government acknowledges this must be addressed in a planned and strategic approach and we have prioritised and operationalised a number of policy, regulatory and investment workstreams to address these challenges in this way.
The Government's Large Energy User Action Plan published in January 2026, sets out a ‘plan-led’ approach for very large and energy intensive investments, which due to their scale and energy consumption benefit from coordinated national infrastructure planning. It is a medium-term plan that will enable Ireland to capture next generation investment in energy intensive industries, and unlock significant associated economic and employment opportunities.
The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) is responsible for electricity connection policy and the economic regulation of the electricity system operators ESB Networks and EirGrid. Electricity Network Tariffs are set every year by the CRU to recover the costs of developing, operating, and maintaining the electricity grid. CRU are progressing a multi-annual Electricity Network Tariff Review project to reform how network charges are levied to ensure costs are fairly distributed across different customers. Additionally, Government has established the National Energy Affordability Taskforce which is preparing an Energy Affordability Action Plan to identify, assess and implement measures that will enhance energy affordability for households and businesses.
