12. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the position regarding any data centre in Ireland that is associated with a district heating supply to use the excess heat created by their operations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44330/26]
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
13. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the number of data centres in Ireland and the approximate level of energy they use; the percentage of energy they use as a proportion of all Irish energy; whether each has a diesel backup generator, by location, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44331/26]
14. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his attention has been drawn to a report published by an organisation (details supplied) in relation to data centre energy usage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44332/26]
15. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he will facilitate a meeting with an organisation to discuss their recently published report (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44333/26]
16. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the position regarding any research ongoing within his Department into the potential use for heat generated by data centres as a source of energy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44334/26]
70. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the commencement date for construction works for the Rochfortbridge data centre; the expected phasing of the project; and the projected timeline for completion of each phase and full operation of the development. [44519/26]
74. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the way in which the findings of a report (details supplied) will inform Government policy on the future development of data centre capacity under the Large Energy User Action Plan, particularly in relation to ensuring alignment with energy security, grid capacity and climate objectives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4…
721. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the reason risks associated with data centre development identified in the terms of reference, which specified "the potential for increases in electricity prices related to any grid infrastructure developments required to support further data centre development and the impact on business costs," were not addressed in the final “The Val…
725. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment his views on the finding of a report (details supplied) on data centres which said transparent reporting on energy and water is a potential solution to the problems the industry faces; his views on the fact that only one in six data centres located in Ireland fulfilled transparency obligations to report on energy and water usage in the…
306. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment given that data centres already use a large and growing share of Ireland's resources but create relatively few permanent jobs, his views on the State putting so much of its digital infrastructure and employment risk into what could be called a "data centre basket"; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40939/26]
307. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if he will report on the proposed data centre campus in Ennis, County Clare: if the Government has official figures showing the number of permanent, on-site jobs will be created once the facility is up and running, not including construction work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40940/26]
289. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the basis for recent public comments reported in the media (details supplied) that the data centre sector employs approximately 29,000 people in the State; whether the figure of 29,000 jobs associated with data centres is derived from Departmental analysis or from estimates supplied by industry representatives or agencies such as IDA …
286. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the levels of fines or other compliance measures he is considering for the failure of data centres to comply with articles 11 and 12 of the Energy Efficiency Directive. [35308/26]
71. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the way in which waste-heat assessments for existing data centres over 1 MW, as required under Article 26(6) of the Energy Efficiency Directive 2023/1791, will be implemented in a manner that is efficient, proportionate and does not create unnecessary delays for investment or expansion; and which bodies will be responsible for this p…
109. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment whether he will apply a levy on data centres in order to fund a universal €500 energy credit. [26892/26]
167. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the specific methods and departmental protocols used to measure and verify data centre water consumption from both public and private sources across relevant catchments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27782/26]
168. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the legislative requirements or Departmental regulations that mandate data centre operators to report their water consumption from either private wells or the national supply; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27783/26]
169. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the number of operational data centres using 'dry cooling' methods; the recorded number of days annually that each such facility reverted to water-based cooling; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27786/26]
170. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his Department maintains a national database or specific inventory of the quantity of waste heat currently recovered from data centres in Ireland; if not, the specific scientific or empirical data used to inform the Large Energy User Action Plan (LEAP) published in January 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2…
437. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment whether there are plans for his Department to mandate data centres which have being constructed or received planning permission before the implementation of the CRU LEU Connection Policy to meet the standards set out in that Connection Policy;; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24831/26]
445. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if the Private Wires Bill 2025 is designed primarily to benefit large energy users such as data centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25123/26]
449. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the amount of drinking water used by data centres in Ireland annually; whether his Department has conducted research to project the water usage of data centres into the future; and if his Department has conducted, or is conducting, research on the sustainability of data centres water usage. [25230/26]
490. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the measures he is taking to address the risks to grid stability from data centre behaviour as identified by EirGrid (details supplied); if he will ask the CRU to introduce new protocols that require data centres to remain connected to the grid during millisecond long faults that arise on the system. [26206/26]
495. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if a data centre powered by gas powered generators offsite connected via a private wire will be considered an 'islanded data' centre; and if it will be consistent with the Government statement on the Role of Data Centres in Ireland's Enterprise Strategy position that islanded data centres 'would not be in line with national policy'. [26211…
177. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if a data centre powered by gas powered generators offsite connected via a private wire would be considered an 'islanded data' centre; and if it would be consistent with the Government statement on the Role of Data Centres in Ireland’s Enterprise Strategy position that islanded data centres 'would not be in line with national policy'.…