No more data centres

335 / 1000 signatures

Ordinary people are paying the price for the Government’s failure to rein in data centres. 

Households in Ireland are estimated to have paid a whopping €715 million more in electricity bills between 2015 and 2023 due to the rapid expansion of data centres in the country, our new report reveals.

Unless Government policy changes, the cost on households could intensify dramatically over the next decade, with households set to face an additional €1.43 billion in electricity bills linked to data centre growth. This figure could rise to as much as €1.6 billion if a future energy shock occurs. 

This is money that could otherwise be spent on essential needs like food, housing, childcare, retrofitting etc. Instead, households are subsidising the energy-guzzling data centre industry, dominated by some of the richest tech corporations in the world. 

Ordinary people in Ireland have effectively been paying a hidden data centre tax on their electricity bills. 

Ireland’s current approach to data centres is not just an energy issue or a climate issue, it is increasingly a cost-of-living issue—and ordinary households are paying the price.

Data centres are also fuelling Ireland’s dependence on fossil gas and undermining access to clean energy for everyone else.

Enough is enough. 

The scale of the data centre sector’s grip on Ireland’s energy system is not inevitable—it’s the result of political decisions. 

The Government must now introduce a moratorium on new data centres, place firm limits on the expansion of existing facilities, and prioritise the energy security and affordability needs of ordinary people over the interests of Big Tech.

Add your voice to show the strength of support for a moratorium on data centres by signing our petition.