Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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Apologies if my question has been asked already or if the witnesses have commented on the issue. I attended a recent meeting of Oireachtas Members and my local authority, Kildare County Council. The issue of data centres was raised because as there are quite a few in County Kildare, and more are being planned. I ask the witnesses to comment on the fact that local authorities are financially strapped. Do the witnesses find that there is much conflict between those who are working in the environmental side, those working in the financial departments, and indeed, those at executive level? How does the increasing number of data centres sit alongside the climate plans that every local authority has? I have another question. Have the local authorities looked at setting up one-stop shops at county level? I am aware that there are a few SEAI groups in north Kildare, which I represent. How good is that at actually targeting the local authority homes where there is a lot of energy poverty, and getting into the homes where residents may not have the time to go looking for the information? Do local authorities find that they can get the information to the people who really need issues relating to energy poverty to be addressed? I ask the witnesses to respond to my question on data centres first.