I move:
That Dáil Éireann:
notes that:
— climate change resulted in Irish temperatures in excess of 30°C in May, breaking a 29-year-old record by more than two degrees;
— a United Nations report has described Ireland as a cautionary tale on the environmental impact of data centres;
— the Government is implementing policies that will increase fossil fuel use, by facilitating further new data centres through the C…
TDs / Ciarán Ahern
Ciarán Ahern
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
860
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
128,105
words spoken in the chamber
Across 238 contributions
355
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
204
topics asked about
Across 20 departments
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
What they ask about
The subject headings the Oireachtas filed their questions under.
Who they ask
The departments their questions were addressed to.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Questions asked 860 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 238 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 | 1 |
| February 2025 | 17 | 8 |
| March 2025 | 74 | 7 |
| April 2025 | 25 | 9 |
| May 2025 | 29 | 18 |
| June 2025 | 16 | 11 |
| July 2025 | 79 | 9 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 52 | 9 |
| October 2025 | 18 | 6 |
| November 2025 | 45 | 16 |
| December 2025 | 54 | 11 |
| January 2026 | 95 | 15 |
| February 2026 | 82 | 13 |
| March 2026 | 48 | 6 |
| April 2026 | 75 | 20 |
| May 2026 | 26 | 19 |
| June 2026 | 52 | 28 |
| July 2026 | 24 | 6 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 34 | 22 |
| October 2026 | 15 | 4 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 109 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Asked about similar topics
Worked out by computer from the subject headings of each TD's questions, giving more weight to headings few TDs use. It shows shared subjects, not shared views.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Dublin South-West 29 November 2024 to now
- party Labour Party 29 November 2024 to now
How many jobs are attached to it?
"The Minister has his head in the cloud computing" is what my colleague might have wanted to say. I thank him for gracing us with his presence for the second half of this debate. It was disappointing that neither he nor the two Ministers of State from the Department were able to turn up for the first half. If nothing else, I am pleased that we have helped to reunite the Healy-Rae brothers over their joint passion for…
We have today been accused of being anti-growth, anti-jobs and even populist in what we are talking about, but Deputies are missing the point. We are legitimately questioning the Government's industrial strategy. Even Deputy Michael Collins accepted that we were relying too much on imported oil and gas. The Government policies, promoted by the Minister, are leading to more oil and gas dependence and undermining any c…
4. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment his response to findings in a recent report by Friends of the Earth that data centre energy demand added a cumulative €715 million to household electricity bills between 2015 and 2023 and could add a further €1.6 billion over the next decade; his response to a recent report (details supplied) on data centres commissioned by the Departme…
I ask the Minister for his response to findings in a recent report by Friends of the Earth that data centre energy demand added a cumulative €715 million to household electricity bills between 2015 and 2023 and could add a further €1.6 billion over the next decade; his response to a recent report from KPMG on data centres commissioned by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment; and whether he accepts the…
I thank the Minister of State. Of course, data centres have a role in modern society. No one would dispute that, but there is an important conversation starting about the costs and benefits. The benefits must be in proportion to the costs. Many of us in this House fear that the balance is being lost here. The Friends of the Earth report spoke to the costs that data centres are adding to our energy bills. We know of t…
We welcome regulation and planning in this area. Currently, 22% of our energy is going to data centres. That is going to be 30% by 2030. Even under the Government's current plans, it looks like 55% of our energy will be going towards data centres, if all the data centres that are in planning are built. What does the Minister of State believe is an acceptable proportion of our energy going to data centres? Is it 22%? …
To echo those comments, this is something that has joint political support across our constituency. We have worked constructively with the Minister of State before and we welcomed his engagement on the issues related to schools in Dublin South-West. DEIS plus is clearly very welcome and many schools in Dublin South-West have already benefited from it in the first round of applications. We are asking for this for St. …
I thank the Minister of State for his engagement. The appeals process itself is basically based on the Primary Online Database, which is very rigid and does not really allow for any subtlety or colour to be given. Part of what we are doing today is giving the Minister of State an insight into how the school works and into the background of the students there. The school desperately needs the resources that DEIS would…
A report published today by Friends of the Earth has found that energy demand from data centres has added three quarters of a billion euro to household bills in Ireland since 2015 and could add a further €1.5 billion over the next decade. This is the equivalent of adding a week's wages to bills for the poorest households. All of us here acknowledge that data centres are part of modern life but the circle the Tánaiste…
We will support the Bill on Committee Stage. I echo a lot of the comments made by Deputy Daly. The Bill is not perfect, but it is an important step in strengthening the regulatory landscape here. The motion to instruct the committee relates to the amendment to increase Bord na Móna's borrowing limit, and I have no principled objection to that. I understand that borrowing limits require updating due to inflation or in…
The Labour Party welcomes this Bill. A genuine success story of the previous Government was the expansion of public transport services outside of Dublin, the Local Link network in particular. It is important we build upon that progress. This Bill is largely technical but it is important in enabling us to do so. I acknowledge the progress being made but too many people are still forced to rely on their cars to get aro…
We are here today to register our strong disapproval of the proposed move of an An Post sorting office from Edmondstown to Lucan across the city. This is an issue of serious concern across parties. As the Minister of State can see, there are three Deputies here from the constituency but I know the two other Deputies will have similar feelings about this. This sorting office serves people in Dublin South-West as well …
We all want to see a strong An Post, but it is important that I also recognise that it is not an entirely commercial body and that it does have a public service mandate as well. There is a lot of uncertainty around the area, whether it is staff or locals, about the future and we are getting a lot of our information second-hand. We would like to see the plan, to the extent that there is one. There are concerns about w…
I thank Deputy Stanley for bringing this important motion forward. The Labour Party will support it and I would like to take the opportunity to restate our firm commitment to the principle of military neutrality, the retention of the triple lock and our country’s continued promotion of peace and an end to war. We know the immense human cost of war. We see it on our screens every day from Gaza to Ukraine to Sudan. Asi…
I want to highlight some difficulties that Irish healthcare students face in accessing clinical placements. A constituent of mine is studying physiotherapy in the Netherlands and needs to complete specific clinical practical placements in hospitals to register with CORU to practice as a physiotherapist in Ireland. She has been trying to line up a placement since February of last year but to no avail. Tallaght hospita…
I know the Taoiseach recently met with the SDLP leader, Claire Hanna, about reform of the Stormont institutions. It is something we in the Labour Party have long called for. The SDLP is calling on the UK and Irish Governments to engage in a short process of talks with parties to deliver change before the next Assembly elections. Will the Taoiseach confirm if he is considering that and if he will convene talks?
33. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on climate action, environment and energy will next meet. [37533/26]
Many of the Taoiseach’s Government’s policies seem to be ignoring the fact that we are failing to meet our climate targets. We see ever-increasing fossil fuel use due to there being more data centres, more cars on our roads and more planes in our skies. We need to see the Government’s plan for how it is going to square this circle. If it is the Government's proposition that we can, basically, keep doing what we are d…
We have more than our fair share.
I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on the issue of biodiversity and to mark National Biodiversity Week today. This week should be not just a celebration of one of this country’s prized assets, including our natural environment, landscapes, coasts, wildlife and waterways, but also a call to action because while we market ourselves on the aesthetically rich, green environment that we have been blessed with, we …
Hear, hear
From data centres.
I am sharing time with Deputy Lawlor.
As we are discussing this issue today, I am thinking of Fiona Holland, who was a teacher in Scoil Maelruain's Senior National School in Old Bawn in my constituency. She tragically passed away last week following a road accident in Terenure. Fiona played a huge role in her community and was loved by her students. I know what a huge impact her loss has been and will be on her comm…