Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have a query on a matter that has come to my attention. There was a situation in Athenry a couple of years ago where an application was made, and it took a long time to process it. An application was made in Denmark at the same time and not only was the first one granted in Denmark but a second one was granted there before one application could be processed here. It is an interesting case in point. The data centre in question did not in fact did not come back to this country to ask if it could help us out and if there was any way we could deal with it in a more business-like fashion.

The other point I wish to make relates to carbon reduction, which is an important issue for all of us. Perhaps I have missed the target somewhere along the line, but it has not been clarified where the objection comes from. Is it the fact that data centres use a lot of electricity or that they use a lot of electricity from fossil fuels? How does it affect the argument if they use electricity from renewables? To my mind, that is a part of the argument that must be addressed.