Sir, – Yet again this week, I read headlines highlighting how data centres now account for almost a quarter of Ireland’s electricity demand (“Data centres account for almost a quarter of Irish electricity usage in 2025″, Business, July 7th). While the statistic is striking, the wider context is too often missing from the debate.
Ireland is no outlier when compared to other European countries. Heavy industry accounts for 45 per cent of electricity demand in Germany, 38 per cent in Italy and 30 per cent in the Netherlands. We need, as a country, to better understand that data centres – the factories of our digital and AI age – are Ireland’s heavy industry, and high electricity demand from that sector is just a byproduct of our successful economic model. The fact that data centres account for 23 per cent of our national electricity demand shouldn’t immediately be treated as a negative.
Although data centres may not employ the same numbers as a traditional manufacturing facility, the multinational companies behind them employ thousands in Ireland and contribute tens of billions of euro to the exchequer each year. Those revenues are helping fund unprecedented investment in housing, healthcare, transport, renewable energy, grid infrastructure and other public services. Irish construction, engineering and energy firms that work in the global data centre supply chain have also become bona fide world leaders – a rare example of where a home-grown domestic sector leads the way internationally.
Growing electricity demand from data centres is an important story. But it is only half the story. A balanced debate should also acknowledge the enormous economic value the sector creates and the public investment it has made possible. – Yours, etc,
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TOM PARLON,
Chair, Irish Data Centre Supplier Alliance,
Dublin 2.
Sir, – The Minister for Transport, Climate and the Environment, Darragh O’Brien recently said that “energy-intensive sectors are just an ordinary feature of successful European economics”. His comments came as the Central Statistics Office (CSO) published new figures on Tuesday showing how much electricity data centres use in Ireland. The Opposition have said data centres are driving up the cost of electricity for households, while the Government says they are necessary for the success of the tech sector and employment. I see both points of this argument.
However, we are not talking about a few data centres here. We are talking about being an outlier for this prodigious project. The EU average for data centres is about 3 per cent of electricity. The CSO reports that last year data centres accounted for 23 per cent of electricity usage. It’s my contention that the Government needs to be honest with people.
These data centres are pushing up our electricity bills at a time when we already have the highest electricity bills in Europe. Recent Friends of the Earth research shows that data centres are not reducing our demand for gas. Research has also shown that the Climate Change Advisory Council has backed this up. They have reported that every bit of renewable energy that’s coming on stream is now being “cannibalised” by these data centres.
One must remember that the Irish public and the small businesses are not benefiting from a reduction in their electricity costs, which renewable energy would bring about if we could reduce our reliance on gas. I am acutely aware of the benefits that data centres will bring to Ireland but it is my assertion that the Government must step up to the plate in being honest with the Irish public about what these data centres are now costing us? – Yours, etc,
JOHN O’BRIEN,
Clonmel,
Co Tipperary.
