Dr. Patrick Bresnihan:

In answer to the first question on whether there are other countries with more data centres, I guess it depends on how you break it down. At the opening of that statement, I had in mind that Dublin is the data centre hub for Europe. It has 25% of the overall European industry market share, according to Host in Ireland, which is the industry representative group for data centres. That figure is from 2018, so it is outdated. However, my understanding is that the percentage can only have increased between 2018 and now because of the number of new data centres that have been built. My answer to the Deputy's question would be that there is a reason Dublin and Ireland are understood as the data centre hub because we have the most per capita. I do not know how the Deputy wants it broken down. Perhaps the most salient figure would be in relation to our energy supply. I do not know exactly how to break it down, but there are more data centres here than anywhere in terms of it being a small country.

In terms of what would be a fair share of date centres and storage services, it is a difficult question. Deputy Bruton made the point about us reaching a point where we have large-scale, off-shore energy, including wind energy, in particular, wave energy and green hydrogen. If they were built out to the extent that the projections have said there is potential energy, and if it was done in a sustainable way, there could be more data centres here. I do not see why not. That is what it really boils down to. However, the point at which we will have that much renewable generation is quite a far bit down the line. Currently, the market share of data centres that we have is not fair and not sustainable.

On the Deputy's question about how we get people to know about the resourcing-intensive nature of data, it is a tricky one. It is really difficult. I made the point earlier that it took so long for there to be awareness and public concern around emissions. Data, in a way, are even more intangible. They are more out of our immediate experience, whereas issues like plastic pollution or other kinds of physical pollution are easier to mobilise people around or raise concern. The only point I can make is that it would be about greater public education. It would be about the role that environmental NGOs and schools play. Certainly, when I teach in college, students are always startled to learn that their use of Twitter and so on has this effect.

One other thing that is interesting about data is that there are lots of debates around the role of tech industries in society and the economy, whether it is around security, surveillance or tax. There is another debate, which is gaining more prominence, around the environmental footprint and impact of tech. The more those kinds of conversations are linked up, the better. These things are related and perhaps we should be joining up the dots a bit more. That might be helpful. It is a very big question, but education is definitely needed in multiple ways and forums.