Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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135. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment further to Parliamentary Question No. 69 of 3 November 2021, the engagement he or his Department has had to date with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with regard to the review of the Government Statement on the Role of Data Centres in Ireland’s Enterprise Strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10255/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Under the Climate Action Plan 2021, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment committed to reviewing the 2018 'Government Statement on the Role of Data Centres in Ireland's Enterprise Strategy' to ensure alignment with Ireland’s renewable energy targets, sectoral emissions and climate priorities. This is part of a suite of actions included in the Climate Action Plan 2021 to ensure that Ireland is planning appropriately for new energy demand in the context of our electrification and decarbonisation ambitions, while facilitating growth in digitalisation and our technology sector.

My Department is working with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and relevant state agencies to ensure that there is a plan-led, regionally balanced approach to large developments such as data centres in future taking into account existing grid availability and the opportunity to co-locate significant renewable energy opportunities. In this regard, my Department has been engaging with officials in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment regarding the development of this revised Statement.

In addition, the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act provides, inter alia, for a maximum amount of emissions to be permitted in different sectors of the economy during a carbon budget period, referred to as ‘sectoral emissions ceilings’. All sectors of the economy will have sectoral emissions ceilings and emissions from data centres will be accounted for within the relevant sectoral emissions ceiling.