2025-12-18

103. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the action he will take to reduce energy demand and carbon emissions from data centres in view of our legal obligations to reduce both energy usage and carbon emissions; his views on whether the new CRU policy is compatible with those obligations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73592/25]

It seems we would be losing out on our country becoming a toxic waste ground. The new CRU large user policy enables further exponential expansion of data centres. It allows them to generate their own electricity using fossil fuels. The CRU is also allowing data centres to connect directly to the gas network in South Dublin County Council's area. How can the Government possibly say any of this is in line with our legal obligations to reduce both final energy consumption and carbon emissions?

I appreciate the Deputy's interest in this matter. It does not align with mine, but his is a well-held view and he has aired it on more than one occasion. Ireland has attracted 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. Data centres are central to Ireland’s economic and digital future. However, data centres, like all large energy users, have to exist within the boundaries of our climate legislation and targets. Climate Action Plan 2025 includes measures to increase the proportion of renewable electricity to up to 80% by 2030. Data centres can be at the heart of our renewable future - using renewable electricity to power data, create jobs and to generate tax revenue for the State. In that context, the CRU’s LEU connection policy will support the Government's renewable energy targets because data centres above a certain threshold will be required to meet at least 80% of their annual demand with new additional renewable electricity generated in the Republic of Ireland. The energy efficiency directive, EED, contains many new measures aimed at further enhancing energy efficiency across society, including requirements under Article 12 to enhance the energy efficiency of data centres across all EU member states. Ongoing mandatory data centre energy and sustainability performance reporting across the EU under the EED will enhance data centre sustainability and drive energy efficiency by requiring data collection to report on their energy performance. The EU Commission is using this data to establish an EU-wide rating scheme and further legislation to address energy usage. The programme for Government contains a commitment to enhance data centres' use of renewable energy resources, energy-efficient technologies and effective solutions, such as waste heat capture, to reduce their carbon footprint.

Will the Minister of State expand on how it is possible to have a policy of exponential growth of data centres that are using fossil fuels? How does that coincide with what he says to the effect that this has to exist within the bounds of our climate targets. We are signed up to the EED, which has a legally binding target to reduce energy consumption by 11.7% by 2030. Ireland's target reduction is 16%. Yet, we have a decision paper from the CRU which states that medium-term electricity demand from data centres could reach 5.8 GW. That is equal to the peak energy demand for the entire country. It is also more than the entire 5 GW target for offshore wind energy by 2030, which the Government is sure to meet. It has been stated that Ireland's total electricity demand has grown by 30% over the past ten years, with the demand from data centres having greatly contributed to this level of growth. This level of growth is projected to continue over the next ten years, with data centres representing a larger share of total energy demand. How does that tally with a commitment and a legal obligation to reduce energy demand when it is being state that this is going to continue to go up fast and that data centres are a driving factor.

The Deputy has to look at it from a Government perspective. We have to ensure the economy remains robust and that we have a strategy in place to ensure - based on the sector trends - that we are able to attract investment in order to continue to provide employment for what is a growing population. Sometimes, others bury their heads in the sand - I am not suggesting Deputy Murphy does - and say that data centres are bad and that we cannot facilitate them any more. The Government does not agree with that position. The direction of travel in relation to the tech sector and the way we live our lives means that so much more is done in a cloud-based environment. You cannot, on the one hand, be of the view that we should have a strong economy and, on the other, ignore the fundamental building blocks of what that future economy will look like and operate. There is a requirement, and we have to live within the terms of the EU directive. As already stated, data centres, like all large energy users, have to exist within the boundaries of our climate legislation and targets.

That is my question. The Minister of State is in the Department of the environment. He cannot just say something and then move on. It is completely illogical to say, on the one hand, that we are committed to this legally binding target of reducing energy consumption but, on the other, that we agree with a decision paper which states that our level of electricity usage will continue to grow and that this is going to be driven by the data centres. You have to pick one or the other. We will either reduce energy consumption or we are going to allow it to increase. Increasing energy consumption is going to lead to a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions. The latter is because data centres are now directly connected to fossil fuel usage. Originally, it used to be the case that we should not worry and that it would all be renewables. In South Dublin County Council's area, the CRU has made a decision to grant permission for Gas Networks Ireland to connect a gas pipeline to the massive Vantage data centre in Profile Park. That decision states that the emissions will result in 3 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. Some 32% of the emissions in that area already come from data centres. Emissions are going to go up even further.

The Deputy has to accept that the long-term strategy of the Government is to generate much more electricity from renewables. We have a target of 20 GW of offshore renewable energy by 2040. The Deputy is right in the sense that gas is a transition fuel, as we move away from fossil fuels.

I did not say that.

It is. Deputy Murphy made the point that gas is the basis of his argument. We have to accept that as we work towards bringing more renewables onto the grid, we just cannot stand still, bury our heads in the sand and watch data centres and tech companies and the investment associated with them go elsewhere. If that happened, our society would be left behind, our economy would be in trouble and we would not be able to invest in services, hospitals or whatever else. We have to have a balanced approach, while also keeping to our trajectory in the context of eliminating fossil fuels. We have a very clear plan for bringing renewables onto the grid by 2040. We are now moving ahead with a plan-led approach. We recently held the auction for 900 MW of offshore renewable energy at the Tonn Nua site. We intend to continue with that at pace. However, gas has to be a transition fuel as we work our way through the process.