Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
SME Energy and Carbon Demands, Green Initiatives and Technology: Discussion
Mr. Leo Clancy:
I will start on data centres and then hand over to Mr. Magee because the bulk of the question related to LEOs. I had experience in respect of data centres in my previous role as well as this one. Enterprise Ireland does not support data centres directly, apart from a few small local providers. They are mostly IDA Ireland clients so I will not speak about them. The sector is important for our exporting and manufacturing base and our electrical and mechanical services companies. It is a sector we see as very valuable to Ireland. We do not take a policy view on its energy demands or how that might be managed. That is beyond our remit as an agency. From an industrial point of view, we see significant value from the data centre players, not just in Ireland but also in enabling exports.