Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

We are starting an energy security review. It is looking at the wider context in terms of gas networks and so on but when one starts looking at it, one realises that to have a full review one has to see the full picture and that includes demand, which includes these operations and others. It is an important part of our economy. As the Deputy said, the data centres themselves are relatively small in terms of jobs but many of the companies operating them here have tens of thousands of workers in my constituency and in the Deputy's. There is a connection in having the data centres, which are in many ways the core of the business, and being able to attract other elements of the business. That is hard to prove. I go back to the basic level of asking someone if they have a phone and if they use it. If so, that is the data centre. The phone is just an extension of the data centre. We are not going to remove our use of our phones any day soon. We need to work with and set the highest standards with the companies and say we will only do this if it works in a low-carbon the way, including the use of district heating, having the most energy-efficient centres going and using our comparative competitive advantage in renewable power. That model can be sustainable.

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