CLIMATE AND ENERGY minister Darragh O\u2019Brien faced tough questioning today on Ireland\u2019s data centre policy when he visited the EU\u2019s climate committee in Brussels.\u00a0<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien was in attendance at the committee to update its members on Ireland\u2019s priorities for the EU Presidency in relation to climate action and environmental protection.<\/p>\n
He told committee members that the Irish presidency of the EU will see the Environmental Council work towards a \u201cwhole-of-society approach to building a climate-neutral, sustainable and resource-efficient economy\u201d.<\/p>\n
While there, he was questioned by MEPs on various aspects of the EU\u2019s climate policy, with a number of MEPs quizzing the minister on Ireland\u2019s approach to data centres and how it aligns with climate targets.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ireland is home to over 80 data centre operations, and in recent years the current government have made facilitating data centres a cornerstone of Ireland\u2019s industrial policy.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Currently, the sector employs more than 35,000 people in Ireland and\u00a0is made up of over 180 companies across design, build, commissioning and maintenance.<\/p>\n However, because data centres are heavy users of water and energy, there has been significant pushback against them on environmental grounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Journal Investigates has reported<\/a> that data centre generators run on fossil fuels and\u00a0 have released huge quantities of CO2 over the past few years.\u00a0<\/p>\n During today\u2019s committee, O\u2019Brien was asked how he plans to \u201cshield\u201d the EU from the negative impacts of data centres.\u00a0<\/p>\n German S&D MEP Tiemo W\u00f6lken noted the recent UN report, which highlighted Ireland\u2019s approach to data centres as a \u201ccautionary tale\u201d for the rest of the world because of their significant energy use.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhat is your plan for shielding European consumers from the negative effects of data centres in terms of energy prices and water consumption, as well as air and noise pollution?,\u201d he asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n Similarly, Green MEP\u00a0Marie Toussaint also noted that data centres have resulted in higher energy costs for Irish households.<\/a><\/p>\n Meanwhile, Irish Left MEP and Sinn F\u00e9in representative Lynn Boylan made the same point about data centres contributing to higher electricity costs for Irish households and noted that data centres in Ireland are currently using over 22% of Ireland\u2019s electricity.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA complete outlier within the EU,\u201d Boylan said.<\/p>\n Defending Ireland\u2019s approach to data centres, O\u2019Brien said \u201cICT is at\u00a0the forefront of driving the Irish economy forward, with nearly 200,000 jobs in that space\u201d.<\/p>\n