Opposition parties have called for a pause on new data centres as new figures show that they account for one-fifth of all energy use.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste Micheál Martin and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan all defended the presence of data centres in Ireland, noting that they are important for the Irish economy.
Figures published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Monday showed that data centres accounted for 18 per cent of total energy consumption in 2022. Electricity use by data centres increased by 31 per cent between 2021 and 2022.
READ MORE: Data centres devouring 18% of Irish energy supply as Government rules out reducing number of them
The Social Democrats’ climate spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore said that the increase puts the energy grid under pressure, as she noted that an amber alert was issued by Eirgrid on Monday.
"We're coming into a winter where we will probably have issues when it comes to energy security. It puts pressure on our ability to meet our emissions targets," she said.
"It also puts pressure on electricity prices because the main driver of electricity prices is demand.
"There are a number of areas that this unsustainable growth within the data centres sector is concerning.
"What we need to see is Government actually managing the issue of data centres and ensuring that they are putting conditions on them so the data centres are actually part of our energy ecosystem."
Ms Whitmore said that her party was calling for a pause on data centre connections until a strategic analysis is carried out to ensure Ireland can cope with the energy usage.
Bríd Smith of People Before Profit, meanwhile, said that she will reintroduce a bill it previously tabled to ban any further planning permissions for data centres.
"We've had an Amber Alert, we will have more," she warned.
"The only thing that will stop this and curtail it is a proper real discussion about what use are data centres.
"They don't employ that many people. Obviously, we need them for what we're doing here.
"But the proliferation of them in this state is obscene."
Speaking on their way into Cabinet, the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister Ryan all defended the data centres.
The Green Party leader said that data centres have to "live within our climate targets but also live within the power system".
"We can’t just keep providing for additional data centres and not have the power available," he said.
Mr Ryan said that the power is "coming" with the expansion of solar and wind power.
The Taoiseach said that there are restrictions on new data centres but the Government has to bear in mind the economic impact that these facilities have.
"There are well over 100,000 people in Ireland who work in tech industries," he said.
"They mightn’t work directly in data centres, but their job is dependent on the existence of data centres.
"[There are] tens of billions of euros coming in from taxes from those tech companies. That is why data centres are an important part of our economic infrastructure."
The Tánaiste, meanwhile, said Ireland is a "technology-centred economy" and that it "creates the need for further data centres".
Mr Martin said that data centres need to be grown "in a sustained way" that is "conscious of the energy pressures that are there".
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