No more data centres in South Dublin, says PBP’s Johansson

Gary Ibbotson 28 Jun 2021

People Before Profit councillor for South Dublin Madeleine Johansson says that no more data centres should allowed to be developed in the county.

Johansson’s call comes after she tabled a motion at a recent council meeting requesting that the policy be included in the upcoming South Dublin County Development Plan 2022-2028.

Johansson’s motion was defeated by 16 votes to eight.

“I’m very disappointed that my motions to ban new data centres was defeated,” she said.

“The council planners acknowledge that Dublin has become a target for these centres which consume enormous amounts of energy.

“There are already a number of them in South Dublin County and they provide very little employment relative to their size.

“While I welcome some of the conditions attached to any new centres, such as strong energy efficiency measures and measures to support district heating, I believe that land in city regions should be used for more jobs intensive enterprises.

“I would encourage members of the public who have concerns about more data centres in the county to make submissions when the public consultation on the draft plan opens in July.”

The draft of the plan will be published on July 7 with a 10-week public consultation to follow.

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