2026-06-11

1. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he is aware of a new UN report on the environmental impact of AI (details supplied), which cites Ireland as a "cautionary example"; if he has plans to implement a grid prioritisation framework, as outlined in the EU Commission's guidance on efficient and timely grid connections in December 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44295/26]

The United Nations is citing Ireland as a cautionary example of what happens when Government policy fails to keep pace with the explosive energy demand from data centres and AI. We are not leaders or an example for the rest of the world but a warning. This did not happen overnight. It is a result of political choices, the lack of a framework and the lack of a plan. What is the Minister's grip on this? Does he have any plans to deal with the mounting criticisms of our approach to data centres?

Data centres are a very important part of Ireland's economic and digital present and future, and a key part of our value proposition for foreign direct investment. Data centres bring wider economic benefits, as most understand. They bring tax revenues, employment, broader digital infrastructure value and significant support and linkages provided to other high-value sectors of the economy. The recent KPMG study on data centres, undertaken on behalf of the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, reports there are 19,500 directly employed in the industry. As detailed in our large energy user action plan, LEAP, Ireland's technology sector, underpinned by the very digital infrastructure in data centres, accounted for employing almost 183,000 people in quarter 4 of 2024. This is equivalent to 7% of Ireland's total workforce. Unlike other European countries that have heavy industry bases, Ireland's industrial electricity demand is primarily concentrated in our digital economy. This is our core energy intensive industry. I note the contents of the cited UN University report on Al energy, particularly on the need for responsible and informed capacity planning of the power system. The Government has for a long time recognised that data centres and their energy consumption need to be managed and planned appropriately. This is why we brought forward the Government's large energy user action plan in January 2026. It sets out a plan-led approach for very large and energy intensive investments. This will enable Ireland to capture next generation investment in energy intensive industries and unlock significant associated economic and employment opportunities. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, is responsible for grid connection policy and is accountable to a committee of the Oireachtas, not to me as Minister. Changes to connections policy, including those proposed in the cited document of the EU Commission, are a matter for CRU.

I agree that data centres are necessary in this country but it is a question of planning appropriately for what is there. The European Commission has already set out a clear pathway for a grid prioritisation framework, putting the public need, system readiness and climate obligations at the centre of decision-making. Here in Ireland we have an open season policy of first come, first served regardless of who benefits. Who is inevitably benefiting? It is the larger corporate and AI users of data centres. This is why the UN calls it a cautionary example. What does it mean for ordinary people, families and small businesses? They are forced to compete for electricity capacity in their own country and county, when a small number of large-scale operators are effectively being waved through without the prioritisation strategy that is necessary. We have been warning about this for years. Housing developments are being delayed, energy bills are being driven up and blackouts are on the cards. Does the Minister have any plan to insist on a prioritisation framework?

I welcome the fact that Deputy Daly recognises the importance of ICT, digital infrastructure and data centres. This is something on which most will agree. The most critical parts of this are the large energy user action plan and the CRU decision on large energy users, both of which are from last year. Both clearly set out what is required for a new data centre or a large energy user connection. This means for a new data centre to get an energy connection it is required to get 80% of its energy through new renewable sources. There is a plan-led approach. There is also the grid investment through PR6, which is critical for all of our industries and housing. This is the €18.9 billion investment to 2030 and beyond. It is absolutely critical. We need to ensure that we remain at the cutting edge of new technologies. As I mentioned, digital infrastructure is our large industrial base. Unlike many other European countries we are not a large manufacturing country. This is something we need to protect. We have not had a situation where any housing has not been connected due to the growth in our economy.

I thank the Minister for the reply but one of the consequences is in relation to our energy security. This is not a theoretical difficulty any more. When the system is pushed to its limits the risk is not that abstract. What we have, and we have seen this already, are blackouts, supply disruption and emergency measures. This is what happens when a grid is under strain. EirGrid has been warning about it for years. The Secretary General warned of the dangers of the approach and said that we need to choose between housing and AI. Officials in the Department of public expenditure warned that data centres are pushing up household bills. Despite these warnings, not enough is being done to ensure security of supply so that no matter what the circumstances homes will be heated, hospitals will operate, businesses can function and energy bills are not driven sky-high, as they have been over the last number of years. We have seen that instead of securing supply first and managing demand, the Government is allowing demand, particularly from these centres, to dictate the system, and this is the imbalance that is happening.

I assure Deputy Daly they do not dictate the system. Connection policy is a matter for CRU, which is independent of me, which the Deputy knows. Grid investment is critical and we are doing that. Grid resilience is absolutely critical and this is why it is imperative that projects such as the North-South interconnector start and are completed as quickly as possible. I have already outlined what we are doing with regard to large energy users and we have published our plans in this regard. We also need to increase grid capacity and generation. What we have done in a ten-year period, when we look at generation of energy, is we have doubled wind capacity and there has been more than a 1,000% increase in solar, with a very good pipeline coming forward for more than 8 GW in renewables. This is where we need to get to. We need to ensure we are accelerating the deployment of renewables into our system and investing in our grid to make sure that grid resilience is there. There are backups to ensure the grid remains safe, such as fault ride through, which is there for large energy users also. This policy is one that is agreed by CRU in consultation with stakeholders.