Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

If the data centre is to be State-run, that is very good news. Deputy Lawless mentioned that the data centres based here which are owned by private companies can use significant amounts of energy. We know there has been a sharp rise in the number of such centres operating here. In fact, a report prepared by the data hosting industry confirmed that the number of operational data centres in the State increased by 25% in the past year. The data centre industry currently consumes 11% of the energy generated on the grid and that is forecast to rise to almost one third by the end of the decade. Not only does it consume significant amounts of electricity, it consumes large amounts of water. For example, the average data centre uses an estimated 500,000 l of water per day. However, a particular data centre in Dublin reported it could use up to 4.5 million l of water per day. At a time when our offshore islands are experiencing water rationing, that is mind-boggling. The Minister has given assurances regarding the environmental aspect of this project. I ask him to be clear that the facilities will be run on renewable energy and will conserve as much water as possible.

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