134. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he supports enabling data centres to build their own fossil fuel power plants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [72887/25]
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
287. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his attention has been drawn to the significant amount of grid connection capacity held by data centres which has not been used. [73595/25]
288. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he was made aware of the volume of grid connection capacity sought by data centres that have planning permission but no grid connection. [73596/25]
398. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the status of the data centre cost benefit report he commissioned. [73597/25]
39. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the exchequer funding to Eirgrid or ESB that has been used to facilitate new data centre connections in each of the years 2015 to date in 2025, in tabular form. [72931/25]
40. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he has engaged with Eirgrid and ESB regarding the amount of funding they have allocated to facilitating new data centre connections through exchequer funding; if this data is recorded; to provide a detailed breakdown of funding provided for this purpose in each of the years since 2020 to date in 2025, in tabular form. [72932/25]
41. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he has engaged with Eirgrid and ESB regarding the amount of funding they have allocated to facilitating new data centre connections through network charges; if this data is recorded and if so, to provide a detailed breakdown of funding provided for this purpose in each of the years since 2020 to date in 2025, in tabular form. [72933/25]
42. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to provide a breakdown of funding provided to ESB for energy grid maintenance and upgrade in each of the years 2010 to date, in tabular form. [72986/25]
43. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to provide a breakdown of funding provided to Eirgrid for energy grid maintenance and upgrade in each of the years 2010 to date, in tabular form. [72987/25]
194. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment whether he has received reports from electricity network operators of outages from fluctuations in frequencies in the grid related to data centres causing issues; and the measures adopted to mitigate their effects. [71756/25]
195. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the number of islanded data centres contracted to connect to the gas network; the number connected to the gas network of those contracted; the number awaiting connection to the gas network of those contracted; the number of formal enquiries that have been received but which are not contracted; and, for each category, the amount of cap…
201. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the projected additional power needs for data centres in 2026; if any recent analysis or report has been prepared for him, or within his Department, on the energy needs of data centres in Ireland in 2025 and projected for the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [72342/25]
133. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the position regarding the total percentage of energy used on data centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70038/25]
134. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the position regarding the total percentage of electricity that is used by data centres at a national level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70039/25]
136. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the number of data centres in Ireland, by location, the approximate level of energy they use, the percentage of energy they use as a proportion of all Irish energy, whether or not each has a diesel backup generator, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70041/25]
137. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his Department has made any assessments into future demand for energy from data centres, particularly in the context of artificial intelligence and the related need for extra storage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70042/25]
138. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment his plans to require data centres to generate their own electricity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70043/25]
139. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the position regarding any plans to connect data centres in Ireland to district heating systems to beneficially use the heat they create; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70044/25]
140. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment his plans to minimise the energy requirements of data centres in Ireland; if there are any statutory requirements in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70045/25]
141. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the engagement he has had with the operators of data centres in Ireland, with a view to minimising their energy consumption; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70046/25]
142. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to provide details of the effect that the proposed liquid natural gas terminal at Shannon will have on attaining the legally binding emissions targets within the set out timeframe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70080/25]
143. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment his views on the proposal for a moratorium on the opening of new data centres that include fossil fuel powered back up generators; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70094/25]
144. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment his views on the proposal to make the construction of any additional data centres conditional on the coming on stream of additional wind generation capacity to power such centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70095/25]
145. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he plans to introduce statutory restrictions on the use of fossil fuel generated back up power systems for data centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70096/25]
146. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment his views on the pilot district heating project connected to a data centre in Tallaght, Dublin 24; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70097/25]