The building of new data centres in Ireland should be put on hold for five years, the outgoing Minister for Environment has said.
Eamon Ryan recently told the Business Post that there should be no new data centres in Ireland until the electricity grid is able to cope with their power demands.
According to a report from UCC, data centres accounted for just over one-fifth (21%) of Ireland’s electricity consumption last year.
The Journal Investigates, meanwhile, found data centres in Ireland are relying on fossil fuels for power after maxing out the electricity grid.
It is estimated that over the past five years, data centres accounted for over 135,000 tonnes of emissions.
'Electricity challenge'
On Breakfast Business with Joe Lynam, Host in Ireland founder Garry Connolly disagreed with the outgoing Environment Minister's call to halt new data centres in Ireland.
Mr Connolly described data centres as a "cornerstone of one of the biggest export industries" in Ireland.
"€280 billion as an ICT industry should be recognised as something that’s good," he said.
"I think the Minister himself acknowledged in his outgoing remarks that data centres are a fundamental part of the infrastructure needed."
Mr Connolly said Ireland does not have a "data centres problem" but an "electricity challenge".
"We have an abundance of acceptable renewable electricity - we’re a rock on this outcrop of the West of Europe," he said.
"We haven’t taken the bull by the horns with regards to being able to harvest that electricity, bring it on to a grid and utilise it for Ireland to turn it into a product called data and then export that data."
A data centre, AlamyMr Connolly said a halt to the construction of data centres in Ireland could see tech companies take their business elsewhere.
"It’s not will they leave – they have left," he said.
Mr Connolly described the conversation around data centres and sustainability as "polarised" and said the challenge is "an opportunity for both sides".
Feature image shows a man working in a data centre, Alamy
