Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 February 2026
262. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the number of data centres there are in operational and in planning stage, by county, and by size and if their usage is monitored; and if so, the usage. [15038/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraWhile the Department has no direct function in capturing and recording this information and figures can also vary depending on how data centres are classified, publicly available information indicates there are in the order of 90 data centre facilities operating in Ireland with the vast majority in the Greater Dublin Area.
However, there are a number of forthcoming measures which will provide greater insight. Reporting obligations related to this information on data centres has recently been introduced by the EU, pursuant to Article 12 of the Energy Efficiency Directive 2023/1791 (‘EED’) and its delegated Regulation 2024/1364, for the annual monitoring and publication on key performance indicators on energy use and sustainability.
Currently overseen by my Department, data centre operators in Ireland are reporting this information to a confidential European database which will be made publicly available by the European Commission in-line with the delegated regulation. My Department is also finalising the transposition of the provisions of Article 12 which requires operators to make this information publicly available, subject to Union and national law protecting trade and business secrets and confidentiality.
Planning, building, safely operating and maintaining the electricity system are functions which are assigned to the respective Distribution and Transmission System Operators, who are independent of me as Minister in the exercise of their respective functions. They are accountable to the independent regulator, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. As such the Deputy may wish to engage with these organisations directly in terms of the details sought. ESB and EirGrid may be contacted via email at oireachtas@esb.ie and oireachtas@eirgrid.com.
