225. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the number of data centres in Dublin and the rest of the State; the average energy usage per data centre; the average water usage per centre; the average number of people directly employed per data centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58369/26]
Topics / Data Centres
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsData 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
| Month | Questions |
|---|---|
| January 2025 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 8 |
| March 2025 | 9 |
| April 2025 | 6 |
| May 2025 | 6 |
| June 2025 | 2 |
| July 2025 | 2 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 5 |
| October 2025 | 0 |
| November 2025 | 9 |
| December 2025 | 26 |
| January 2026 | 10 |
| February 2026 | 3 |
| March 2026 | 12 |
| April 2026 | 10 |
| May 2026 | 5 |
| June 2026 | 27 |
| July 2026 | 7 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 15 |
| October 2026 | 10 |
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.
The TDs who asked most
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.
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39
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25
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21
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9
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9
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8
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8
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7
Asked of
Debated under the same heading
Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.
The questions
999. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the position regarding any incentives or obligations under review within his Department that would support data centres in the use of renewable energy systems to minimise their reliance on the grid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56125/26]
1000. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the position regarding any initiative that seeks to reduce the environmental impact of data centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56127/26]
1001. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the position regarding any report or research into the environmental and societal impact of data centres including their energy usage, water usage and impact on the grid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56129/26]
81. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment in light of his recent statement that no household has not been connected to the network due to a data centre (details supplied), if he is also satisfied that no households have been delayed in connecting to the electricity network because of data centres. [53105/26]
66. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation his plans to designating any data centres as critical infrastructure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51478/26]
177. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the number of data centres that are currently planned, proposed or awaiting approval in the context of the annual emissions generated by data centres; the location of each; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50375/26]
59. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he is considering a tax on data centres to broaden the tax base and to raise funding for critical energy infrastructure projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48318/26]
200. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if he is aware that a cost-benefit analysis was not included in a report (details supplied) commissioned by his Department; if he has considered a cost-benefit analysis to generate a net present value for data centres in Ireland to be made available to the public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45476/26]
251. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to report on the water usage of data centres in Ireland; to provide details of all monitoring and regulation of water extraction and use for data centres in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45389/26]
402. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if he will provide a full schedule of costs incurred in respect of the report on the value of data centres to Ireland by a company (details supplied). [45752/26]
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 matt…
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…
11. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the energy usage of data centres in Dublin; the way in which this is affecting energy prices for consumers; the number of new data centres to open over the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44479/26]
20. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his attention has been drawn to a recent United Nations University report which references Ireland as a cautionary example of local grid stress from concentrated digital infrastructure due to the proliferation of data centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44343/26]
29. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his Department has carried out a detailed assessment of the potential extra demand of electricity required by data centres over the next decade; the additional percentage cost this could put on household bills; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44126/26]
33. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his Department has carried out an impact study on the effects of the large energy demand of data centres; the way this may be increasing costs to households; the findings of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44125/26]
41. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment his views on the use of Ireland as a cautionary tale of data centre growth in a recent UN report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44546/26]
144. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the assessment his Department has made on the impact of projected growth in data centre electricity demand on Ireland’s climate targets and security of supply; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44688/26]
150. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his Department has carried out analysis regarding the total water and energy used by data centres as a percentage of total data and potable water consumed in the State; if any analysis is carried out on peak energy and water usage, particularly in hot summer periods; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44886/26]
7. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the position regarding any incentives or obligations under review within his Department that would support data centres in the use of renewable energy systems to minimise their reliance on the grid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44325/26]
8. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the position regarding any regulations or requirements for data centres to use solar panels or other renewable energy sources to reduce their demand on the electricity grid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44326/26]
9. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the position regarding the annual usage of gas energy by data centres in Ireland, if this is something that is recorded by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44327/26]
10. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the position regarding the annual usage of water by data centres in Ireland; if this is something that is recorded by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44328/26]
11. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the position regarding the annual usage of electricity by data centres in Ireland, if this is something that is recorded by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44329/26]