Dr. Patrick Bresnihan:

It was a big question but I am aware that we do not have that much time. The question was interesting in respect of what Deputy Cronin called "social cohesion". I agree with her. That is why I referred in my opening statement to the different dynamics that will be at play, whereby there will be increasing energy costs and carbon taxes affecting consumers, people in their homes. In addition to opposition to these, there will be opposition to developments such as wind farms and energy infrastructure, whether that involves data centres or upgraded grid. Whether it is offshore or onshore, grid and physical infrastructure will be built.

The more there is an understanding that this kind of transition is happening to benefit, for example, tech companies and other large end users rather than citizens, the more that could be a recipe for trouble. We have seen that elsewhere with things like the gilets jaunesmovement and the big protest about carbon taxes in Peru. Even in Ireland, one could say that there was something similar with water charges. That is the kind of flip side. Just transition gets a great deal of air time but the flip side of that is the concept of "eco-austerity" that has been coined in the past number of years. The latter is this idea of transition where the burden of the is placed on the poorest, most vulnerable and so on. That is the bigger picture. It is important to bear that in mind in decisions relating to data centre development.

Another point was made about a debate on wider issues and more systemic things. That is a very significant point but one thing that has come up in our conversation so far is the exponential growth of data and its consumption. I would be very hesitant in trying to talk about individual behavioural responsibility, namely, the idea of being on Netflix or whatever a bit less. It is important to recognise that the need for data centres is driven by a business model which is about driving more data consumption. The comparison that I often give to students - I teach a class in geography - on waste is that in the 50s and 60s there were many advertisements that one would see from plastics companies which were about encouraging housewives to use more disposable plastic because it would make their lives easier, they would not have to wash things up and could just throw it away. These are advertisements that now seem appalling and are hard to imagine, but it is the idea of disposability, of getting people to use more, which is exactly what is built into everything, from lights to Netflix.