Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Our concern about all of this is that very profitable companies and data centres should not benefit. That is basically it. We are worried about data centres being able to get it because we have a fundamental problem with data centres and the drain they represent on the energy of this country, which is rising exponentially. We would put a fair bit of the responsibility for the energy security concerns we now have in this country on their shoulders and on the Government's shoulders for facilitating and encouraging the massive proliferation of data centres, with the huge consequences they have for the energy of this country, such that they are going to absorb huge amounts of whatever renewable energy we may develop.

They are currently using a much higher volume of energy proportionately than they do in most other countries, if not all of them. They are, therefore, part of the problem that we are now all facing, and we think that they should not be supported in that regard.

There is also the matter of supports that we want to see for businesses that are genuinely struggling with this massive hike in energy costs, including electricity and so on. We want them to be supported and we do not want to see businesses and SMEs going under in this situation. They deserve the support, just as they deserved the support during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, we think there should be a different approach for companies making big money. Basically, if they are profitable or if their turnover is above a certain level, we think that they probably do not need the help. I would the Minister respond to that.