Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) is a cornerstone of EU policy on climate change mitigation promoting cost-effective emissions reduction in heavy industry and power-generation. It is the first and largest carbon market and works on the ‘cap and trade’ principle.  A cap is set on the total amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted by installations covered by the system. The cap is reduced over time so that total emissions fall. Within the cap, companies receive (for free) or buy emission allowances which they can trade with one another as needed. The limit on the total number of allowances available ensures that the allowances have a value.A list of operators holding greenhouse gas emitting permits, and the dates of issue of the permits, can be found at the following link:

www.epa.ie/our-services/licensing/climate-change/eu-emissions-trading-system-/emissions-trading-system---stationary-installations/access-to-current-permits-/.

It should be noted that no free allowances are provided for the generation of electricity, and that data centres fall under this classification.

The information requested in the Question regarding the date of permitting and allowances bought and surrendered each year is publicly available on the European Union Trusted Lists (EUTL). Public information is limited to compliance and is available on the EUTL at the following link ec.europa.eu/clima/ets/oha.do?form=oha&languageCode=en&account.registryCodes=IE&accountHolder=&installationIdentifier=&installationName=&permitIdentifier=&mainActivityType=20&account.complianceStatusArray=A&searchType=oha&currentSortSettings=&resultList.currentPageNumber=4&nextList=Next%3E.

The purchase of allowances under the EU ETS is a matter for the operators seeking to purchase allowances themselves.