Paul Murphy: Calls data centres 'digital toxic waste' and warns on power
Paul Murphy challenged the Taoiseach over government data centre policy, calling large data centres the "digital toxic waste of the 21st century" and warning they consume more electricity than all urban homes combined. He argued they provide very few jobs, use excessive water and electricity, and risk undermining the transition to 100% renewables.
Main criticism
Paul Murphy accused the Government of pursuing a "disastrous course" on data centres and asked what it would take to reverse that policy. He questioned whether expansion will stop at 30% of electricity use and warned of the risks of brownouts and blackouts as demand grows.
Electricity use and renewables challenge
Murphy highlighted the broader energy context - electrifying the economy requires rapid growth in renewable energy, and expanding electricity use on what he described as unnecessary services will make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to reach 100% renewables. He singled out large companies running algorithms to target ads as a major source of that increased demand.
Response on grid and employment
The Taoiseach responded by correcting the suggestion of brownouts, saying there have been amber alerts but no red alerts, brownouts or blackouts, and warned against scaremongering. He also stressed that over 100,000 people work in the tech sector, that many tech jobs depend on data centres, and that companies requiring data centres pay billions in tax used to fund healthcare, housing and education.
Grid connections and policy approach
On connections, the Taoiseach noted that the transmission operator has not issued any new connections for data centres since July 2020 and that new applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis in line with the government's policy statement on data centres.
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The National Reform Programme includes climate action and the environment. I want to ask the Taoiseach what would it take for this Government to reverse its disastrous course on data centres, to reject the policy of consciously seeking to attract what is the digital toxic waste of the 21st century, with an incredible situation unparalleled anywhere else in the world where now data centres are using up more electricity than all of our urban homes combined. Will it stop when we reach 30%? Will it stop when we have more brownouts? Will it stop when we have blackouts? What will it take in a context when these data centres provide very, very, very few jobs? When they use inordinate amounts of electricity and they use huge amounts of water? Because this is all happening in a context when we have to electrify our economy. So the things that are run currently directly on fossil fuels have to be shifted to electric and we need to go rapidly to renewable energy. And if we keep expanding energy usage on unnecessary things, like these big companies running algorithms to target people with ads, which is a big amount of what's happening in these data centres, will then we make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to actually get to 100% renewables. Just in relation to data centres and electricity, just to clarify and correct something Deputy Murphy said, we have never had brownouts, we have had amber alerts, we have not had a red alert and we have certainly never had a brownout or a blackout and I think there has been a fair bit of scaremongering in that regard and for the Deputy to say that we had brownouts is just not correct. In relation to data centres generally, as I said earlier on today, we have over 100,000 people who work in the tech sector in Ireland, they might not work in data centres, but their jobs are dependent on data centres and the companies that require them pay billions in tax in Ireland, which we use to pay for healthcare and housing and education and other things. We have to make sure that we have to make sure that we have to make sure that we have to make sure that we have to make sure that that is part of the debate. As I said earlier as well, Airgrid has not issued any new connections for data centres since July 2020, that is nearly two years now, and new applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the government's policy statement on data centres. » ».
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