Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Ar an gcéad dul síos, ba mhaith liom fíorbhuíochas a ghabhadh leis an Aire Stáit as ucht teacht isteach tráthnóna. Tá a fhios agam nach bhfuil sé éasca teacht ag an am seo den oíche ach tá mé cinnte mar iar-chúlbhinseoir é féin go dtuigfidh sé an tábhacht a bhaineann le Aire ón Roinn a mbaineann an t-ábhar leis teacht isteach agus freagraí a thabhairt go chúlbhinseoirí ar na Saincheisteanna Tráthúla.

The digital economy is vital to the entire Irish economy. We have built up over the last generations a modern, vibrant economy in many sectors but particularly in the digital sector. The Minister of State's Department has a clear policy to continue developing that sector. I understand Ireland has the fifth most advanced digital economy in the European Union. We know it is a vital employer in this economy. Therefore, we need to ensure we have the digital infrastructure, part of which is the provision of data centres, which is the issue I wish to raise tonight. We need to have a comprehensive long-term view of how we progress. I accept that we have to challenge our carbon footprint and that data centres are huge energy users.

I understand there is a risk that the energy regulator might refuse grid connections for data centres. If that were to happen, it would be short-sighted because, at times, one must go backwards to go forwards. By that I mean we cannot stop-start our economy. One cannot stop-start one's competitive place in the world. We live in a competitive international climate in terms of future development. We cannot rest on our laurels as a country, think we have it made and that industry will keep coming here and people involved in developing the digital economy will come here if we say we will do this but only in 2030.

Unusually, as a country, we are totally surrounded by water and have massive potential for renewable energy production into the future. As we have a small population relative to our size, we probably, per head of population, have more energy around our seas than nearly any other country. In the future, we will have surplus energy. We have choices to make. One choice is to damage the economy, because there will be a small time lag, by not allowing the digital economy to progress. The other is to take the longer-term view and say we can do this totally sustainably within a reasonable timeframe. For example, people are talking about the first major offshore site to come on stream put 2030. That is only six years away.

It is important that we make sure the policy of grid connection of the regulators is in line with Government policy. Time and again, particularly in the west, we have seen this challenge of regulation being at variance with Government policy. We need a coherent view. People say to me that the regulator is independent. Regulators are independent day-to-day but it has to be the Government, through legislation, that lays down the basic ground rules for regulation.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Éamon Ó Cuív as ucht na díospóireachta seo a thabhairt os ár gcomhair anocht.

I do not disagree with anything the Deputy said but I will give him the formal response. As the Deputy knows, and as he has acknowledged, Ireland wants to continue to be a European and digital global leader.

Ireland is strongly committed to progressing the digital transformation of our economy. Data centres are necessary infrastructure for many of the services that we now take for granted, including technological advances such as cloud computing, quantum and AI, and the rapid growth of the use of Internet services by enterprise and communities. Data centres are a key part of our value proposition for foreign direct investment. I absolutely agree with Deputy Ó Cuív's contention about us not being complacent in this space.

As with all large energy users, future data centre developments will need to be consistent with our climate legislation and targets. The 2022 Government statement on the role of data centres in Ireland’s enterprise strategy signals the Government's clear preference for sustainable data centre development that can demonstration a clear pathway to decarbonise and ultimately provide net zero data services. This statement provides a framework for decisions to be made around energy connections over the next number of years while we have the challenges of balancing supply and demand of energy with meeting our climate targets.

The Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, is undertaking a review of the gas and electricity connection policies for new large energy users and we expect a decision paper in the coming months, which will set guidelines for new grid connections. Officials in my Department are also working with officials in the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and other relevant stakeholders to clarify the position to industry for data centre connections over the near term, from now to 2030, and the longer term, post 2030. This work will include exploring options such as locating data centres close to offshore wind production. The output of the work being undertaken by the Department will provide the data centre sector with the certainty it requires to make decisions regarding future data centre investment in Ireland and it will support the continued growth of the digital economy, while in parallel the sector transitions to net zero carbon operations.

I can assure Deputy Ó Cuív that my Department is very robust in our submissions around the current data centre operation. We are engaging in very detailed submissions with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for the very clear and precise answer that actually addressed the issue I raised. We often get a page and a half of irrelevance and five lines of relevance. In this case, however, the issue was addressed head on.

My concern is that in the long term, the CRU will take it upon itself to ignore the wider picture. I agree that every new data centre should have a road to sustainability. I fully accept that but this might not be possible in the short term. This is where the dilemma arises for us as a nation. In the longer term we know that we probably have more energy off our coast than we will ever need and we will be exporting it to other economies. Are we going to export the jobs and the digital economy with it or are we going to take a balanced view of how we go forward? Provided there are clear paths to sustainability within a reasonable timeframe and we use the extraordinary resources off our coast, industry will be able to progress in the coming five or six years until we get to that crossover point where we are not only self-sustainable but able to export our electricity.

The challenge for us is how to manage this. In the context of modern regulation, it worries me that regulators have a habit, as we see with the CRU in relation to water connections for domestic houses, of working in a framework that is independent of the reality or the common good on the ground. We have to be careful in this case that we do not kill the goose that is laying the golden egg. Instead, we should do as the Minister of State has outlined, which is to have a clearly managed process going forward to get to that sustainability without missing a step in the development of the digital economy, including data centres.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy is absolutely right that data centres are an important part of the solution for increasing the supply of sustainable energy. They can transform energy usage through the use of corporate purchase power agreements, through on-site renewables, demand flexibility, battery storage and many other sustainable options and solutions that will reduce the burden on the grid.

Our offshore wind industrial strategy recognises the important role of data centres for Ireland. Meeting our offshore renewable energy target, which is 37 GW by 2050, presents, as the Deputy identified, a massive opportunity to locate large new industries of the future in close proximity to offshore renewable energy projects. For many communities this will be well outside Dublin. The Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, and I had very good engagement with the Scottish Government two weeks ago about its track record in this space and what we can learn to do that.

The industrial strategy includes an action to assess the role that green energy parks will play in Ireland's future enterprise development. These new parks will attract significant foreign direct investment, create jobs and stimulate prosperity by co-locating the infrastructure required to produce the renewable energy with the large energy usages such as data centres that will use that energy. In particular, there will be a requirement to identify appropriate usage for the projected increased quantum of electricity that will become available, as identified by the Deputy, post 2030. The new flexible and predictable demand loads such as those required by data centres will be essential in managing that demand-supply equation.

I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to clarify the position of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in relation to the ongoing consultation. There is some work to be done but I value the opportunity to place our position on the record of the Dáil.