Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Tallaght district heating scheme is very welcome and is something we support. However, it does not allay any concerns I have in regard to data centres. According to EirGrid, by 2028, data centres, along with other large users, will consume 29% of Ireland's electricity. We are already Europe’s data centre capital, with Amazon, Google and Microsoft having operations here. Dozens of centres have opened in recent years, bringing the total to 54. We have ten centres under construction, including a €1 billion Amazon hub in Mulhuddart, west Dublin, and another 31 centres have planning permission.

These centres do not get the same attention as the agriculture industry, the aviation industry or the fossil fuel industry but they should and, in fact, they should get more attention. They are jobs poor and carbon heavy. People drive past them in industrial estates on the outskirts of towns and because they do not have two smoking chimney stacks going into the sky, they do not attract the same amount of attention. This is a flawed model.

I am not encouraged that there is enough detail in the Minister's response to suggest that we are truly going to tackle what is being done.

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