The Dáil will debate a Labour Party motion on Wednesday calling for a moratorium on building new data centres.
Speaking in advance of the motion, Labour’s climate spokesperson Ciaran Ahern has called for cross-party support and made a direct plea to Minister Darragh O’Brien to introduce a levy on data centres to recover the higher electricity costs now being imposed on Irish households and businesses.
Deputy Ahern said:
“Just last week the CRU published figures that showed 500,000 accounts are in arrears on energy and gas bills. The increased and inflexible energy demands of data centres are pushing Ireland’s energy costs higher and higher and it is ordinary households who are paying the price for this.
“Labour’s motion calls for a moratorium on the construction of data centres, including the suspension of the CRU LEU connection policy and the commissioning of an independent study of the impact of data centres on electricity prices, carbon emissions, water usage and grid stability. We cannot continue to blindly build data centres until we fully understand the impact these centres are having on our energy infrastructure.
“Rather than ducking and diving, we need Minister O’Brien to step up to the plate for households. Labour’s motion calls for the introduction of targeted energy credits for the households who are most in need, as well as more targeted SEAI supports for households before Budget 2027.
“People need security and certainty during the months ahead – they simply cannot wait until October. Households need to be able to plan their finances and with energy bills soaring, we need to see intervention from Government to protect households.
“To add insult to injury, Ireland is currently on track to miss our binding 2030 emissions targets which will result in massive fines. Labour’s motion calls on Government to be honest with the public through providing information on how much Ireland will miss these targets by, the exact fine Government is expecting to receive, and how these fines will be paid for.
“Lastly, in May the Government forced through the Dáil the Critical Infrastructure Bill which will actively undermine Ireland’s climate obligations. Labour’s motion calls for the deletion of section 7 of the Critical Infrastructure Bill and publication of the legal advice confirming the constitutionality of the provision to disapply Section 15 of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act. The Bill is due to pass the Seanad this week.
“Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil’s failure to take climate seriously is driving up people’s energy costs and is likely to see Ireland incur massive climate fines. Why are Government failing to intervene? Labour’s motion on Wednesday will provide an opportunity to take real action – to pause data centre constriction and to protect households who most need it against increasing bills.”