Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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127. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the measures being taken by his Department or in collaboration with the CRU and SEAI to ensure that the operation and expansion of data centres in Ireland are aligned with national climate goals; if his Department is engaging with the sector on the deployment of best-in-class sustainability practices, including advanced cooling systems, energy-efficient rack configurations, and waste heat recovery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30261/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland has attracted some of the best data centre and tech companies in the world; this is a really important relationship, and the Government continues to work with the sector towards a secure and decarbonised energy future. However, data centres, like all large energy users, have to exist within the boundaries of our climate legislation and targets.

This is why the Programme for Government 2025 contains key commitments such as enhancing data centres’ use of renewable energy sources, energy efficient technology and effective solutions, such as waste heat capture for district heating to reduce their carbon footprint. Additionally, the July 2022 Government Statement outlines principles for sustainable data centre development, providing clear guidance to decision makers in the planning process and encouraging the data centre sector to implement decarbonised energy solutions and to increase efficiency.

Moreover, my Department is in the process of transposing Articles 12 and 26 of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED). Article 12 of the EED introduces an obligation for the monitoring, reporting and publication of the energy performance of data centres with an installed IT capacity greater than or equal to 500kW. The aim of these measures is to enhance data centre sustainability, promote greater efficiency and create a consistent framework for monitoring and improving environmental performance of data centres by requiring data collection relevant to energy performance, renewables, waste heat, water footprint and demand-side flexibility. Article 26 of the EED requires data centres with a total rated energy input exceeding 1 MW to utilise the waste heat or other waste heat recovery applications, unless they can show that it is not technically or economically feasible. My Department and the District Heating Centre of Excellence in the SEAI are working with project sponsors to progress the expansion of district heating based on the use of waste heat from data centres.