South Dublin County Council Motion Seeks National Moratorium on Data Centre Development

Friends of the Earth welcomes the motion [1], submitted on Monday 23rd of June by Councillor Jess Spear, to South Dublin County Council calling on the government to implement an immediate moratorium on all new data centre development.

This motion comes at a time when data centres are consuming as much electricity as all the urban homes in Ireland. 

 

Seán McLoughlin, Climate Policy Campaigner for Friends of the Earth commented:

 

“We strongly welcome the submission of this timely and important motion to South Dublin County Council. We now call on all Councillors to endorse and progress the proposal without delay. The South Dublin Council area is the epicentre of unchecked data‑centre growth in Ireland - climate targets, housing delivery and promises of a clean, affordable energy future are all at stake. Local people are already paying the price for Ireland’s data centre binge, as capacity at the ESB’s Castlebaggot substation, which was originally built to serve future housing needs, has now been almost fully gobbled up by these Big Tech developments. [1]“

“Given that data centres now consume a record breaking 22% of electricity in Ireland, support for this motion should be common-sense. Friends of the Earth Ireland hopes that the motion to enact a moratorium on data centres in Ireland is a much needed wake-up call to the Government, who must now show national leadership by immediately halting new data centre developments. Friends of the Earth Ireland calls on every local authority to put forward equivalent motions, not just as a crucial climate measure, but as an issue of resource justice for local communities bearing the burden of excess energy consumption by data centres.”

ENDS

 

NOTES

 

1. Text of the Motion Proposed by Jess Spear: “That this council resolves to write to the Minister for Climate and the Environment requesting a national moratorium on further data centre expansion.”
2. pg.42: https://cruie-live-96ca64acab2247eca8a850a7e54b-5b34f62.divio-media.com/documents/CRU202504_LEU_connection_policy_proposed_decision.pdf