“Energy for Who?” protest urges Government to protect households from crippling energy bills, not energy-guzzling data centres

Climate justice organisations join forces with residents associations, community and civil society groups to call out Govt choices that are driving up energy bills, while data centres are supported at expense of householders and communities.

 

An “Energy for Who?” protest took place outside Dáil Éireann at 1pm today, Tuesday 30th September, calling on the Government to stop prioritising energy-guzzling data centres over protecting households from crippling energy bills. Taking place a week before Budget 2026, the protest was organized by environmental campaigning organisation Friends of the Earth [1] and endorsed by a wide variety of civil society organisations, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, and community and grassroots groups from around the country [2]. Political representatives from a variety of political parties were also present at the protest [2]. The protest invited interest from foreign news outlets, including the New York Times and the Italian state broadcaster.

 

The “Energy for Who” protest questioned political choices that are driving up energy bills for households, while data centres, which are placing a huge burden on Ireland’s energy system [3,4] while also undermining climate action targets [5], continue to be supported at the expense of householders and communities. Ahead of Budget 2026, Friends of the Earth is calling on the Government to introduce an Energy Guarantee Scheme [6] to ensure every household has access to a basic affordable level of energy to meet essential needs. Speakers at the protest included Rosi Leonard and Clare O’ Connor of Friends of the Earth, Eoghan Connolly, youth climate activist and tenant, Dr Fiadh Tubridy, researcher with Maynooth University's Just Housing Project and a committee member of Community Action Tenants Union, and Liz O’Connor of the Oliver Bond Residents Association. 

 

Rosi Leonard,  Data Centre Campaigner with Friends of the Earth, said: 

“Ireland’s crippling energy prices are not solely the result of energy market fluctuations, they’re down to political choices that the Government is making.  Why are energy-guzzling data centres enjoying continued support while households are struggling to access the energy they need for their basic wellbeing and everyday life?

Data Centres have been the largest driver of energy demand by a significant margin over the last decade, rising over 400% in ten years [7]. But while households are again facing higher energy bills this winter, data centres aren’t seeing comparable energy price hikes. In fact, scenarios in the energy regulator’s current price review even show data centres’ electricity grid charges lowering by up to 18% over time, while those for households could be increased by 8% [8]. The companies who have done the most to strain the grid are proportionally paying the least towards fixing it."

 

Clare O’Connor, Heat Programme Coordinator with Friends of the Earth, added:

“Ahead of the Budget we’re urging the Government to introduce an Energy Guarantee Scheme [6]. This should ensure that baseline energy needs are consistently met for all households and ensure that no one is left choosing between heating and eating.

This protest was about getting out on the streets, highlighting people’s right to energy and demanding energy justice. Families are again facing a winter of impossible bills while data centres get special treatment. This must end. We’re calling on the Government to put people before polluters, communities before big corporations, and long-term climate solutions over short-term profits. 

In addition to introducing an Energy Guarantee Scheme, Budget 2026 must increase funding for retrofitting for the coldest, leakiest homes, putting renters and social housing tenants first. It’s really important that the Fuel Allowance is expanded in this Budget too.”

 

Speaking at the protest Eoghan Connolly, youth climate activist and tenant said: 

“I grew up in Andrews Court Flats around the corner.  And in the winter, it was so cold inside that you could almost see your breath. And still, we couldn’t afford to always turn on the heating. My ma raised us by herself, and we hadn’t got much income. Instead, we often layered on jumper after jumper, to stay warm. Mould was a frequent issue, eating away at the walls and making the home unsafe."

"And my experience isn’t unique. It’s the reality, for working-class, marginalised communities across Ireland ---families stuck in freezing homes that desperately need retrofitting.

That’s why we’re here today! Because energy injustice is only getting worse. Right now, Ireland has some of the highest energy prices in Europe. This year, prices are going up even more. And at the very same time, the government is taking away energy credits from those who need them most.

And what’s massively impacting this energy crisis? Data centres. These power banks for big tech are devouring our energy supply. They use more electricity than every urban home in Ireland combined. In the Dublin-Meath region, they take nearly half of the grid — 48 percent.”

 

Also speaking at the protest, Fiadh Tubridy, researcher with Maynooth University's Just Housing Project and a committee member of Community Action Tenants Union said:

"Bad housing conditions are rife for so many tenants in Ireland and this is contributing to widespread energy poverty and poor health as well as runaway carbon emissions and climate change. This is a political choice - we need people affected by these issues to come together in their communities and in organisations like CATU, to force the Government to invest in public housing and to force private landlords to properly maintain and upgrade their properties."

 

At a time when crippling energy prices have forced almost 300,000 households into arrears on their electricity bills and thousands of people face a winter of cold homes and energy poverty [9], Friends of the Earth is very concerned that the energy regulator has proposed to reduce grid costs for data centres but increase them for households [8]. Meanwhile, the Fuel Allowance has remained frozen at 2022 levels, and many households, particularly working families on low incomes, cannot access this vital support. 

 

ENDS

 

Notes

1. Friends of the Earth is Ireland’s leading environmental campaigning organisation whose work involves campaigning for environmental and social justice, respect for human rights and a world where both people and nature thrive. It is currently campaigning for a moratorium on new data centres that threaten the sustainability of Ireland’s energy system and against the import of climate wrecking Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Friends of the Earth is also campaigning to secure warm and climate friendly homes for people renting and living in social housing. Friends of the Earth Ireland is a part of Friends of the Earth International; the largest grassroots network of environmental activists and groups in the world - which links grassroots, national and global struggles to protect both people and nature.
2. The full list of organisations who have endorsed the march is available here. Government parties and the main opposition parties in Dáil Éireann were invited to attend or endorse this protest and there were representatives from a variety of political parties present at the protest on the day. 
3. The rapid expansion of data centres has raised serious security of supply concerns for the Irish electricity grid, with experts even warning that the pressure they are putting on the grid is also affecting the provision of new housing. See more on this here: https://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2025/0821/1529518-govt-warned-of-rising-household-bills-as-data-centres-strain-grid/
4. According to CSO figures, in 2024, data centres were already responsible for 22% of Ireland’s electricity demand. See here: https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-dcmec/datacentresmeteredelectricityconsumption2024/. Data centres in Ireland are projected to consume the same amount of electricity as two million homes by 2030. 
5. In 2024, Friends of the Earth commissioned research written by Professor Hannah Daly which showed how energy demand from data centres had outpaced all the new renewable wind energy that had come on stream between 2017 and 2023, severely undermining our ability to move away from planet-wrecking fossil fuels and build out a cleaner and more resilient energy system. Friends of the Earth is therefore calling for a national moratorium on data centres until they can show that they pose no threat to our legally binding carbon budgets, and are not facilitating social and environmental harms. For more on Prof Daly’s research regarding the climate impacts of data centres see here: https://www.friendsoftheearth.ie/news/new-ucc-research-reveals-alarming-impact-of-data-centres-on/
6. Friends of the Earth is calling on the Government to develop and implement an Energy Guarantee Scheme, ensuring baseline energy needs are consistently met for all households. This should meet a proportion of minimum energy needs, primarily linked to dwelling energy efficiency and household income, and be adaptable to any price fluctuations in the market, acting as a safety net to low income households during times of energy price crises. Such an approach would become less costly as the energy efficiency of dwellings are improved in line with the national retrofit strategy. For more on Friends of the Earth’s pre-Budget demands, see our pre- Budget Submission here: https://www.friendsoftheearth.ie/assets/files/pdf/foe_pre-budget_submission_2026-2_1.pdf
7. Data published by the CSO shows that electricity demand from data centres has increased by 412% since 2015, which is the first year for which the CSO has published data-centre specific demand. See https://www.seai.ie/sites/default/files/publications/energy-in-ireland-2024.pdf
8. Scenarios in the energy regulator’s current price review show data centres’ electricity grid charges lowering by up to 18% over time, while those for households could be increased by 8%. This data is taken from CRU’s Price Review Six which seeks to raise the necessary funds for the expected investment in our electricity infrastructure.  These increases outline the change in bills up until 2029/2030 for a range of different customer groups based on network charge increases and are outlined in CRU’s Summary Paper on page 33,  Tables 5: PR6 Draft Determination Impact on Customer Bills https://consult.cru.ie/en/consultation/price-review-six-0
9. According to the latest CRU statistics on arrears and disconnections, 13% of domestic electricity customers in Ireland, amounting to 298,336 customers, are in arrears. See the full statistics here: https://cruie-live-96ca64acab2247eca8a850a7e54b-5b34f62.divio-media.com/documents/Arrears_and-NPA-disconnection-update-June-2025.PD