Paul Murphy
Ceist:175. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will increase taxation on data centres in Budget 2027; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68600/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 29 September 2026
Ceisteanna (175)
Freagraí scríofa
As a small open economy, connected to Europe and the wider world, Ireland is committed to a competitive, transparent and stable corporation tax system.
Businesses operating data centres are subject to the general rules of taxation in respect of their trading activities. Imposing additional taxes on certain sectors or activities would involve increased complexity and could negatively impact the attractiveness of Ireland’s corporate tax regime.
Data centres are fundamental to Ireland’s position as a leading global hub for digital and technology-driven enterprise. They form a critical part of the State’s digital infrastructure, supporting activities including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, financial services and public sector digital services. Data centres also bring wider economic benefits – through tax revenues and employment in connected businesses and significant linkages to other high-value sectors of the economy.
A March 2026 KPMG study on data centres, undertaken on behalf of the Department of Enterprise Tourism and Employment, reported that the construction and operation of data centres underpinned almost 19,500 jobs in 2024. It also states that, across the six sectors in Ireland with the highest data centre dependency, around 876,000 jobs were enabled by the availability of digital infrastructure provided by data centres located in Ireland.
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. Data centres also reinforce Ireland’s attractiveness for global technology investment and underpin significant high-quality employment in that sector.
Notwithstanding these points, I am aware of the challenges arising from the rise in data centres, particularly in the area of energy. 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.
This must be addressed in a strategic manner, and we have prioritised and operationalised a number of policies, and regulatory and investment workstreams to address these challenges, including the Government’s Data Centre Policy Statement and the recently introduced Large Energy User Action Plan.
This policy and regulatory framework is being reinforced by an unprecedented investment in Ireland’s electricity network infrastructure, supported by a €3.5bn equity investment by Government in the electricity system operators.
Finally, it is a longstanding practice of the Minister for Finance not to comment in advance of the Budget on any tax matters which might be the subject of Budget decisions.
Question No. 176 answered with Question No. 147.