Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 June 2026
200. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if he is aware that a cost-benefit analysis was not included in a report (details supplied) commissioned by his Department; if he has considered a cost-benefit analysis to generate a net present value for data centres in Ireland to be made available to the public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45476/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAt the beginning of June, I published “The Value of Data Centres to Ireland”, an independent report prepared by KPMG which assesses the economic contribution and strategic importance of the data centre sector in Ireland.
The terms of reference for the study clearly set out the following aims:
• to determine the economic impacts and wider societal benefits arising from existing and planned (to 2030) data centres in Ireland; and
• to explore options for evolving the data centre landscape beyond 2030 with a view to optimising future economic and societal benefits.
The economic impacts to be assessed were specified as Gross Value Added (GVA), employment and tax revenues. This focus is consistent with my remit as Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, with the study intended to develop a clear evidence base on the role data centres play in Ireland’s economy.
The study finds that:
• the role of data centres as critical digital infrastructure is evident in the scale of economic activity they generate in the Irish economy. In 2024, €104 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) (approximately 20% of the national total) and 876,000 jobs (approximately 32% of all employment) were enabled by data centres located in Ireland across the country’s six most data centre-dependent sectors;
• they reinforce Ireland’s attractiveness for global technology investment and underpin Ireland’s internationally significant computer services exports, which reached €279 billion in 2024 and accounted for over half of total services exports;
• the construction and operation of data centres contribute to GDP, support jobs and tax revenues, and have helped build deep high-tech construction capabilities, enabling over €2 billion in export activity by Irish-owned firms in 2024.
The study acknowledges the challenges to further data centre development in Ireland, particularly in relation to energy availability, grid capacity, and associated carbon impacts. However, it also affirms that Ireland has opportunities to broaden its data centre footprint through regional diversification, particularly by co-locating facilities with renewable energy sources, which is the approach being pursued through the Large Energy User Action Plan (LEAP).
My purpose in commissioning this study was to determine the economic impacts and wider benefits associated with data centres so as to provide a robust evidence base to inform policy discussion. As indicated in the report, further work by relevant bodies is required to address existing data gaps, particularly in respect of environmental datasets and broader social impacts. This work extends beyond the remit of my Department and would be necessary to support a full cost-benefit analysis.
