James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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505. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if there are plans to review, revise or update the Government Statement on the Role of Data Centres in Ireland’s Enterprise Strategy dated July 2022 and in particular in the area of ‘islanded’ data centre developments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10572/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Data centres are critical infrastructure for our modern economy. They are a key part of our value proposition for foreign direct investment and central to Ireland’s economic and digital future.

The 2022 Government Statement on the Role of Data Centres in Ireland's Enterprise Strategy was developed to take account of energy capacity constraints and the need to ensure that the twin transition of decarbonisation and digitalisation of Ireland’s economy and society are complementary and in harmony with environmental policy.

The Statement adopts a series of principles to inform future data centre development in Ireland and signals that the data centre infrastructure that can be accommodated in Ireland should contribute positively to our climate and digital ambitions.

These principles remain aligned with Government’s current ambitions for sustainable data centre development, and as such there are no plans to update the 2022 Government Statement on the Role of Data Centres in Ireland’s Enterprise Strategy.

While the Statement notes that there may be options to develop sustainable off-grid power solutions in constrained or other areas, it also makes it clear that “islanded data centres” (i.e. those that are not connected to the electricity grid and are powered mainly by on-site fossil fuel generation) would not be in line with national policy.

More broadly, we know that we face the significant challenge of finding a balanced approach to facilitating additional demand for energy by data centres while also ensuring the competitiveness, sustainability and security of supply of our energy system.

Government is committed to addressing this challenge and, as outlined in the Programme for Government 2025, will develop a comprehensive plan to accelerate energy generation, connectivity, and planning processes. This plan will guide the development of data centres in Ireland and provide certainty to industry with regards to making short and medium-term investments.