Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-30
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

Essentially, over the last five years, there was almost a de facto moratorium on data centres, and the exponential increase in data centres predated the last four to five years. Under the large energy user action plan, LEAP, which was published in January of this year, we are moving to a plan-led system that will provide greater certainty for industry and ensure that the cost of developing necessary additional infrastructure is borne in a manner that is fair and balanced. This has been reinforced by unprecedented grid investment. Up to €18 billion can be spent on the grid, which supports all areas that are beneficial to the economy. The 2025 CRU large energy user connection policy sets out the criteria that must be met by new data centres seeking connection to the electricity system. That policy is being implemented by EirGrid and ESBN system operators.
We need a more measured debate. There is no doubt that data centres are using significant amounts of energy, and AI is going to compound that. Are we saying that we are going to decouple ourselves from AI investment into the future? The ICT industry is a critical industry, and by that I mean ICT generally. The world we live in today depends on data centres. The issue is where they are located, but there will have to be data centres located somewhere. The issue for us is that we have to do it in a balanced way. I accept that.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-30/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-30