Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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At present there are 82 data centres in Ireland. They use up 6 TWh of electricity, which is 21% of all electricity produced. There are 14 data centres under construction, and a further 40 centres have planning permission. By 2030 there is potential for 100 additional data centres in Ireland. It is now a major challenge. There is concern that the fact they use 21% of the electricity will put pressure on the electricity suppliers with regard to being able to cope with the demand. The companies involved in data centres have represented to me that the best way to deal with this is for them to be able to lay cables from the power source. What they propose is wind turbines at sea. Cables brought from these would go directly to the data centres. The data centres would then have their own power lines and would not be reliant on supply from the main electricity suppliers in Ireland. There would be the added advantage that any surplus electricity they have would be fed back into the national grid.

The advantage in Ireland with regard to data centres is that Ireland has 10% of all of the European data centres. For a country of this size it is a phenomenal percentage to have. With the generation of AI and everything else, we will have even more demand for data centres. Therefore, we must respond appropriately with regard to how we plan forward. We also need to plan for the provision of electricity and the generation of electricity, and we need to fast-track the issue of wind turbines at sea. We probably have the best potential in Europe but compared to Norway or Sweden we are very much at least ten, if not 15, years behind with regard to generating electricity from wind turbines at sea. There is also the challenge that when wind turbines are put on land there are concerns because no matter where we put them they are within a very short distance from existing dwellings. This can cause its own problems for the residents of the houses.

We need to fast-track the legislation to deal with this. We need to encourage, and provide licences for, wind turbines to be put in place at sea. We need to go through the planning process and get them up and running. We also need to legislate so that data centres, which have the resources and finances to do so, can lay the cable directly from the source of electricity to the data centre. Any surplus electricity would be fed back into the grid. This issue needs to be given priority. We have a growing population. Recent figures show that 5.45 million people are now resident in Ireland. It is a growing population. We need to generate electricity and cater for the companies that want to develop data centres in future.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Burke for raising this very important matter. He is right to highlight the relationship between data centres and electricity demand, which is a global challenge. There is the additional demand for energy by data centres and the need to ensure we are competitive. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment.

I will first set out the work this Government is doing on private wires, which is the policy area that will allow for demand users to connect directly to generators, and I will then set out the work we are undertaking in respect of data centres.

The current legal position in Ireland is that, other than in limited circumstances, only the ESB can own an electricity distribution or transmission system and, as such, the supply of electricity from generation site to demand user takes place on the ESB-owned national electricity grid. Deputy Burke may be interested to know that this position has its roots back to the early years of the State and the establishment of the ESB in 1927. Following its establishment, the ESB set about creating a standardised national electricity network and have owned what we now know as our national electricity grid ever since.

The current electricity market and environment is very different now, with a liberalised and interconnected market in operation. As the Irish energy sector evolves further with a move towards renewables and a zero-carbon economy, there are opportunities to alter the environment in which electricity supply takes place. Private wires provide one such opportunity and, on a basic level, refer to private individuals or undertakings running their own electricity cables in order to transfer electricity from one site to another.

Having received Government approval on 4 July, the Department published a set of guiding principles for the development of a policy on private wires. The principles, while not making immediate changes, are to guide any changes which are to come and provide guidance to the public and industry as to the direction of travel in respect of this key area while reiterating the central role the national electricity grid will continue to play in our electricity system.

Developing a private wires policy is of importance to this Government and an action was included in the programme for Government to expedite the delivery of this policy. It is the Minister's intention to bring a policy document on private wires to Cabinet next month. The private wires policy will, among other things, aim to unlock private sector resources to build new electricity infrastructure by expanding the rights of private undertakings to connect supply directly with demand. The intention is that private wires will accelerate investment in new electricity infrastructure, including renewable generation and storage, in a manner consistent with the guiding principles of the private wires policy, thereby increasing the availability of power within the wider electricity system. An example of a private wire which may be seen in the future is where a manufacturing plant builds a private connection directly to a new renewable generator. Once introduced, this policy will require primary legislation, along with increased powers and staffing for the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, which this Government will move to implement as a priority.

While the Deputy has asked about data centres, it is worth noting that the private wires policy will be broader than just data centres. Data centres, while playing an important role in our economic prosperity, are just an aspect of many businesses, both indigenous and foreign, based in Ireland.

As part of developing a private wires policy, the Department undertook a detailed public consultation during 2023, the results of which were published along with the wider policy principles in 2024. As part of the public consultation, the views of numerous stakeholders representing various parts of the economy, including data centres, were sought and considered by officials.

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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I note the Department has progressed this matter. However, I am concerned about the time period with regard to developing this policy further. We are under pressure with increasing demand for electricity. Therefore, we need more facilities in place to generate that electricity, whether it is through solar farms, wind turbines or new forms of generating electricity. We need to fast-track it now because the economy is growing at a far faster rate now than anytime before, and data centres are making a huge contribution to the economy as well.

As I set out earlier, there are 14 data centres currently under construction and another 40 have planning permission. Therefore, the demand for electricity will increase, and we need to respond to that demand. Some of these centres may not be able to progress because the infrastructure is not there to supply the electricity to them. We therefore need to see how we can fast-track it but also how we can fast-track the whole issue of licensing to allow the building of wind turbines at sea and make sure that can be done in a timely manner. It is interesting how other countries in Europe have been able to do that, and have done it over a very short period because they saw the demand was there.

Another issue has occurred in the past two to three weeks. The issues in relation to the conflict in the Middle East show that there was a threat for a period that we might have a sudden shortage or that there would be restrictions on the supply of oil. It further highlights the reason we need to be self-sufficient in the generation of electricity, whereas we are currently reliant on resources from abroad. We need to give priority to this.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Burke for his contribution and comments, and I will take his remarks back to the Minister. As I said earlier, next month the Minister will bring a policy document on private wires to Cabinet. However, private wires alone will not solve the issues currently facing the data centre sector in Ireland. To date, Ireland has attracted the best data centre and tech companies in the world, which is an important relationship, and Government continues to work with the sector towards a secure and decarbonised energy future.

Data centre electricity demand is a global challenge for companies and governments. In Ireland, there are current and real network constraints in facilitating new data centre connections, particularly in Dublin. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities is currently reviewing the results of the recent public consultation on a new proposed data centre connection policy. While in the near term already-contracted data centres will be accommodated in the grid, for the medium term, the Government is committed to developing a plan that will, inter alia, guide the development of plan-led data centre infrastructure to provide a certainty to the sector over the medium term. The programme for Government commits to scale up investment in critical infrastructure, including electricity, and this is key to facilitating the delivery of future demand growth.

I expect the Commission for Regulation of Utilities to shortly publish its minded-to decision on price review 6. PR6 will see the CRU approve by year end the investment in the grid spanning the four-year period 2026 to 2030. ESB Networks, as part of the PR6 process, has requested a baseline investment in the onshore grid of €10.1 billion, with the potential to grow to €13.4 billion. This is an increase from the €4.4 billion approved under PR5.

In conclusion, PR6 will assist in Ireland maintaining a reliable and resilient electricity network to meet the needs of customers and society, delivering additional network capacity at all voltage levels.