Topics / Data Centres

A subject heading for parliamentary questions

Data Centres

172 questions from 36 TDs, between 13 February 2025 and 22 October 2026.

172
questions
158 written, 14 oral
36
TDs have asked
9
parties and groups
Independents counted together
6
departments asked

Questions per month

The record holds no questions for August, when the Dáil does not sit.

Jan 2025Oct 2026
Show as a table
MonthQuestions
January 20250
February 20258
March 20259
April 20256
May 20256
June 20252
July 20252
August 20250
September 20255
October 20250
November 20259
December 202526
January 202610
February 20263
March 202612
April 202610
May 20265
June 202627
July 20267
August 20260
September 202615
October 202610

Who asks, by party

The party each TD belonged to on the day, in alphabetical order. Parties differ a lot in size, and members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them, so this shows who raised it, not how much a party cares about it.

  • Aontú1 from 1 TD · 2 seats today
  • Fianna Fáil7 from 6 TDs · 48 seats today
  • Fine Gael45 from 7 TDs · 38 seats today
  • Green Party9 from 1 TD · 1 seat today
  • Independent5 from 3 TDs · 15 seats today
  • Labour Party10 from 2 TDs · 11 seats today
  • People Before Profit-Solidarity14 from 3 TDs · 3 seats today
  • Sinn Féin65 from 10 TDs · 39 seats today

The TDs who asked most

Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.

  1. 39
  2. 25
  3. 21
  4. 9
  5. 9
  6. 8
  7. 8
  8. 7

Asked of

Debated under the same heading

Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.

The questions

Aidan Farrelly Written 22 Oct 2026 · to Enterprise
248. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the assessments the State makes of the ultimate beneficial owners, creditors and lien-holders of foreign entities that acquire Irish data-centre projects after permission is granted. [75218/26]
Aidan Farrelly Written 22 Oct 2026 · to Housing
312. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to review the ethics framework for SPC sectoral members, given public concern about the data-centre zoning in the Naas Local Area Plan 2021–2027. [75222/26]
Aidan Farrelly Written 22 Oct 2026 · to Housing
313. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will outline the checks that exist to ensure a person who served on an SPC while a development plan or local area plan was being prepared did not take part in deliberations on zoning that benefited a company they direct; and the sanctions that apply where a declaration was not made. [75221/26]
Aidan Farrelly Written 22 Oct 2026 · to Housing
314. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will clarify whether sectoral nominees to local authority Strategic Policy Committees must make declarations of interest under Part 15 of the Local Government Act 2001; and whether those declarations must cover directorships of companies that hold or are pursuing an interest in land being zoned in a local area plan the comm…
Aidan Farrelly Written 22 Oct 2026 · to Housing
315. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will clarify whether planning applicants for strategic-scale developments such as large data centres must disclose existing put and call options, or agreements for sale, under which the applicant company or the land will pass to another party once permission is granted; and whether he will consider making such disclosure ma…
Aidan Farrelly Written 22 Oct 2026 · to Housing
316. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has considered statutory conditions, on planning permissions or grid and gas connections for data centres, that prohibit their use for military or intelligence purposes by any foreign state; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [75208/26]
John Clendennen Written 21 Oct 2026 · to Enterprise
45. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the Government's current policy position on the establishment and development of data centres in Ireland. [74648/26]
Pa Daly Written 20 Oct 2026 · to Enterprise
436. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment further to Parliamentary Question No. 69365/26, if he is aware of this decision by the regulator to cap data centre power demand (details supplied); the way in which this will impact the Large Energy User Action Plan; the measures he is taking to ensure that his plans for data centre expansion do not place our energy grid at further risk of…
John Lahart Written 20 Oct 2026 · to Enterprise
443. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether or not a cost-benefit analysis has been conducted regarding data centres in Ireland and how data centres benefit the country. [73726/26]
Pat Buckley Written 6 Oct 2026 · to Climate
39. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment for an immediate national moratorium on grid connections for data centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70415/26]
Réada Cronin Written 30 Sep 2026 · to Climate
9. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the progress that has been made in developing district heating networks that utilise waste heat from data centres; whether further projects similar to the Tallaght district heating scheme are under development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [69342/26]
Paul Murphy Written 29 Sep 2026 · to Finance
175. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will increase taxation on data centres in Budget 2027; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68600/26]
Rose Conway-Walsh Oral 22 Sep 2026 · to Enterprise
2. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if, in the interest of transparency, he will instruct his Department to publish the original unedited report (details supplied) on the value of data centres to Ireland. [67206/26]
Roderic O'Gorman Oral 22 Sep 2026 · to Enterprise
3. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the reason a recent report (details supplied) published by his Department on the economic impact of data centres in Ireland did not address the net impact on the economy of increased costs of energy caused by data centres, the opportunity cost of supporting data centres instead of other infrastructure or sustainability targets on wat…
Richard Boyd Barrett Written 22 Sep 2026 · to Enterprise
21. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether he will respond to reports that a report commissioned by his department (details supplied) on the value of data centres "predetermined" the outcomes in favour of data centre expansion, despite evidence of adverse effects to Ireland's climate goals and strain on the energy grid associated with data centre electricity use,…
Roderic O'Gorman Written 22 Sep 2026 · to Enterprise
233. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if his Department will conduct a cost benefit analysis of the value to the economy of operational roles related to data centres (estimated by his Department as 7,636 additional operational jobs from 2010 to 2024) against the increased energy costs associated with the operation of data centres. [67220/26]
Pa Daly Oral 17 Sep 2026 · to Climate
1. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he will report on the demands data centres place on Ireland’s critical infrastructure and the plans to increase this demand; if he is satisfied with our infrastructure’s ability to withstand this increased demand; the way in which this will be paid for; the contributions data centres have made to finance existing and increased demand; his…
Jennifer Whitmore Oral 17 Sep 2026 · to Climate
2. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he will commission a report into the number of data centres the Irish energy grid and water networks can handle. [65223/26]
Ciarán Ahern Oral 17 Sep 2026 · to Climate
4. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment in light of recent reporting on data centre energy consumption, water use, carbon emissions and their impact on household energy bills, if he is confident in the Government’s current strategy and if he is proposing any changes to it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65969/26]
Brian Stanley Oral 17 Sep 2026 · to Climate
11. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the impact of electricity demand for data centres on the public network; and the studies that have been carried out to determine the impact on the householder in terms of additional costs and so on. [65585/26]
Jennifer Whitmore Written 17 Sep 2026 · to Climate
28. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he will commission a report into the number of data centres that the Irish energy grid and water networks can handle; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65430/26]
Naoise Ó Cearúil Written 17 Sep 2026 · to Climate
51. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the progress made in implementing the requirement that new data centre developments match at least 80% of their electricity demand with new renewable generation. [65914/26]
Richard Boyd Barrett Written 17 Sep 2026 · to Climate
54. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he has read a report (details supplied); and to outline his plans to deal with the increased costs of electricity for households as a result of data centre usage. [65815/26]
Pa Daly Written 16 Sep 2026 · to Climate
133. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment his views on the latest report on the CRU which proposed that data centres should be offered cut price gas in return for supply disruption; his views on whether is fair; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65756/26]
Michael Cahill Written 7 Sep 2026 · to Climate
104. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he will confirm the precise number of operational data centres currently located within the State; the number planned or under construction; if his Department maintains a definitive register of such facilities; his views on the implications of data centre expansion for electricity demand, grid capacity and domestic energy consume…