Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 January 2026
467. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to provide detailed evidence of his statement that “data centres already employ around 21,000 people who manage and operate the facilities”; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4291/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs stated in the Government’s Large Energy User Action Plan (LEAP) published on 13 January, companies that operate data centres in Ireland, whether as part of their own infrastructure requirements or as a provider of services to other users, account for approximately 21,000 direct employees. This is according to IDA data in respect of information provided by its client companies within the most recent Annual Employment Survey published in February 2025. It does not include likely additional employment in respect of data centres operated by non-IDA client companies or in respect of the construction of data centres in Ireland.
As noted in LEAP, the expertise that has been developed by indigenous enterprise around data centres has given Irish data centre construction, engineering, design and electrical specialist subsectors a significant global advantage, supporting indigenous employment and exports. Likewise, critical digital infrastructure, such as data centres, have anchored other valuable activities in the Irish economy and strengthened Ireland’s position as a strategic knowledge-intensive regional hub, including within the ICT sector, which accounted for around 180,000 employees during Q3 2025.
