Join our protest for a data centre moratorium

Data centres gobble up 23% of electricity in Ireland - the highest per capita in the world! - while directly employing only 3,300 people, just 0.1% of the workforce. It’s clear for everyone to see - this is not a good trade-off for a polluting industry that is draining our wages and resources. And yet, our Government continues to push for more data centres.

From the Government deliberately misleading us in their report on data centres  to people complaining about the relentless noise emerging from a data centre in their neighbourhood, new reasons to oppose data centres are emerging practically every single day. 

Here’s the thing though - what has also been emerging alongside these deeply troubling developments is the growing resistance of communities to data centres, from Naas in Ireland to Scotland, India and the US. 

You now have a chance to join forces with these community groups in Ireland to urge the Government to stop the expansion of data centres. We’re organising a protest in Dublin on Saturday, November 7th, to demand that the Government stop new data centres via a moratorium. 

This protest is part of a Europe-wide Day of Action on Data on Data Centres, which will see people across the continent taking to the streets, calling on their respective governments to enact a moratorium. Find out more here. 

Community groups in Ireland who are facing big data centre build-outs in their neighbourhoods will be leading the protest in Dublin. 

The Government must urgently enact a moratorium on data centres as an urgent climate, energy security and cost-of-living measure. Given nearly a quarter of our electricity already goes to data centres, it’s not clear why we need more data centres and who will benefit other than the Big Tech companies.

A strong physical presence in the thousands with a unified message to enact a data centre moratorium makes it harder for the Government to ignore. Let’s unite in our collective power to force the Government’s hand into putting people and nature first.

Notes

1. The European day of action is being coordinated by a network of groups across Europe including Global Action Plan, Green Web Foundation, Leitmotiv, Tu Nube Seca Mí Rio, Spanish Strategic Litigation Group, Friends of the Earth Ireland, Data 4 Good, APRS Scotland, Equinox Initiative for Racial Justice. A full list of groups and partners coordinating the day of action can be found here. So far groups have registered their support from Belgium; Denmark; France; Germany; Ireland; Italy; Netherlands; Poland; Spain; and the United Kingdom with groups from more countries expected to participate. 
2. Groups who have signed up in support of the demands within Ireland so far include Friends of the Earth Ireland; An Taisce; BOLD Climate Action; Climate Justice Universities Union; Not Here Not Anywhere; Kildare Data Centre Awareness; Futureproof Clare; Kilmeadan Against Industrialisation, with more set to be added. 

The Garden of Remembrance, Dublin