IF the government committed the same capital to building homes as they did to building data centres, more than 50,000 houses could have been built since 2019.

That’s according to a study from Maynooth University, which Cllr Isobel Towse (SD) cited at a meeting of Cork County Council.

She said if this continues “the government is at risk of putting data centres above the basic social needs of the people.”

Cllr Towse called for a moratorium to be imposed on the connection of data centres until a comprehensive analysis of their long term impact is carried out.

She highlighted that one in seven households are already behind on their electricity bills and, with data centres making “electricity more expensive for everyone”, it will only add to the financial pressure.

“Ireland already has 10 times the number of data centres per capita than the European average,” she said, adding that there are already 82 data centres in the country with 14 in construction and another 40 that have been granted planning permission.

Cllr Towse said the centres used 23% of the metered electricity last year, with that figure expected to rise to 30% by 2030 which she believes is “conservative”.

“Aside from the cost, the CRU (Commission for Regulation of Utilities) have warned that data centres pose a risk of destabilising our grid,” she added.

“This could lead to blackouts for everyone. The more and the bigger the data centres we have, the higher the risk of blackouts.”

In light of this, and the unknown scope of their water usage, Cllr Towse asked for support in writing to the CRU for an immediate temporary moratorium on data centre grid connections.

Her party  colleagues supported the motion, with Cllr Ann Bambury saying its only reasonable to pause construction until it is known how many data centres Ireland can sustainably support.

Cllr Eamon Horgan said it’s a “watershed moment when it comes to data centre development”, describing the current situation as being like the “wild west”.

In response, the council said their development plan is aligned with the national and regional policy and stated that all data centre developments consider infrastructure capacity, energy demand, grid capacity, renewable energy sources, environmental impacts and the cumulative effects of development.

Council chief executive Moira Murrell added that under new legislation, data centres are required to meet at least 80% of their annual electricity demand from new renewable energy projects in Ireland which introduces a self-sustaining element.

Cllr Towse noted that figure is only required six years after connection, allowing new data centres to draw solely from the grid for the first six years.

She said that between the CRU, the Minister for Housing and An Coimisiún Pleanála, the authority exists to stop companies dictating development.

“The tech giants need to hold their horses,” she said. “But we need to remember that the government holds the reins.”

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.