Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I note he states that data centres have a flat demand but this means they are more likely to rely on electricity generated by fossil fuels. I wonder if there has been a cost-benefit analysis of the gas generators used as backup for the data centres or the long-term impact of fossil lock-in. Is there any possibility that the Minister will review how the planning system operates?

One current specific problem is that the process does not adequately address the cumulative energy and climate impact of continued data centre development in Ireland. A typical data centre's energy use contributes approximately 0.5% of Ireland's annual greenhouse gas emissions and this might go into an environmental impact assessment as being insignificant but it is the cumulative impact of these data centres that must be taken into account. They cannot be taken into account on a local basis because climate change is a global matter. We must look at the cumulative national impact.