Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The White Paper on Enterprise 2022-2030 recognises clustering as a key tool for achieving enterprise policy objectives, including driving innovation, attracting and embedding FDI and developing linkages between multinationals and indigenous firms. It proposes the establishment of a National Clustering Programme (NCP), with a target to fund 5 national cluster organisations by 2025.

In March 2024 my Department engaged three international experts on clustering from TCI (The Competitiveness Institute) to undertake a Peer Review of the draft National Clustering Programme which had been drawn up based on the Grant Thornton evidence base report and consultations with stakeholders. This included a one day workshop, facilitated by the three international experts, in Trinity College Dublin which was attended by over 70 stakeholders from the Irish clustering ecosystem. The final report was delivered at the end of July. The TCI Peer Review report will shortly be published on the Department’s website once it has been approved by the Department’s Management Board.

It is now proposed to publish the National Clustering Programme in Q1 2025 and to launch the first competitive call under it by the end of Q1 2025. The proposed approach for the NCP is to adopt a layered programme, in line with the findings of the Grant Thornton report on an evidence base for the development of a national clustering policy. Clusters of national scale will receive the highest level of NCP funding, with provision being made to fund, on a lesser scale, emerging clusters and existing clusters demonstrating the ability to transition to a national level. The Call for Proposals will set out the criteria against which proposals will be assessed by a panel including enterprise agency representatives and international clustering experts. Currently it is intended that proposals from all sectors will be welcome and will be considered against the published criteria, thus giving the flexibility to identify sectors in which there are clustering strongholds or evidence to support the potential for same, whilst capturing emerging sectors.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Data Centres are necessary infrastructure for many of the services which we now take for granted, including technological advances such as cloud computing, quantum computing and AI, and the rapid growth of the use of Internet services by both enterprise and consumers alike.

Data Centres are a key part of Ireland’s value proposition for FDI investment and central to Ireland’s economic and digital future, and I understand investors are increasingly advising that the supply of significant power will be a key consideration to their decision-making about where to invest into the future.

The increased demand for Data Centres comes at a time when Ireland, in common with other states, faces the challenge of balancing supply and demand of energy with meeting climate targets. Like all Large Energy Users, future Data Centre developments will need to exist within the boundaries of our climate legislation and targets, as well as our energy security.

As set out in the revised Government Statement on the Role of Data Centres in Ireland’s Enterprise Strategy (published in 2022) it is expected that, the capacity of Ireland’s electricity grid, security of supply concerns, and our determination to decarbonise our electricity system, will mean that not all demand for Data Centre development can be accommodated sustainably in the shorter term.

My Department is currently engaged in a programme of work with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and other relevant stakeholders to clarify the position with regards energy connections for Data Centres over the near term (now to 2030) and the longer-term i.e. post 2030.

This will provide the sector with the certainty it requires to make decisions regarding future Data Centre investment in Ireland and support the continued growth of the digital economy while in parallel the sector transitions to net zero carbon operations.

The revised Government Statement on the Role of Data Centres in Ireland’s Enterprise Strategy also signals the Government’s clear preference for Data Centre developments that deliver renewable energy in Ireland.

The Strategy highlights a preference for Data Centre developments in locations where there is the potential to co-locate a renewable generation facility or advanced storage with the Data Centre, supported by a Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA), private wire or other arrangement.

A CPPA is an arrangement whereby renewable electricity is procured through a direct contractual agreement with a renewable electricity generator. CPPAs will stimulate investment in renewable energy generation as the long-term stable income that comes with a CPPA gives generators the financial certainty they need to secure debt funding to build new projects.

A new Large Energy Users connection policy is being developed by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities in response to the Government publication of the Sectoral Emissions Ceilings and the revised Government Statement on the Role of Data Centres in Ireland’s Enterprise Strategy. The use of CPPAs is thus expected to form an integral part of the requirements for Data Centres that seek energy connections in the future.

My Department also published Ireland’s Offshore Wind Industrial Strategy (Powering Prosperity) in March 2024, which has the overarching objective to ensure that Ireland maximises the economic benefits associated with the Government target for offshore renewable energy, including those associated with future industrial demand and end uses.

This is the first iteration of this Strategy and it focuses on the next two years but with a view to 2030. Further measures will be developed over time aimed at achieving the overarching objective of maximising the economic development potential of offshore renewable energy, including establishing new industrial demand for green energy.

While we are currently in a transition period with regards to meeting the increasing demand for energy while also decarbonising our energy system, there is a wide range of activities ongoing across Government Departments that are focused on stimulating investment in renewable energy in Ireland and ensuring that Ireland develops the low-carbon energy infrastructure critical for underpinning Ireland’s digital economy into the future.