Soc Dems calling for public register of data centres

The Social Democrats have called for a public register of data centres to track their locations, carbon emissions, energy requirements and water usage.

The party today published a bill to set up such a register saying the proliferation of data centres was concerning.

Jennifer Whitmore, the party's energy spokesperson, said CSO data showed that data centres accounted for 23% of Ireland’s total metered electricity consumption in 2025 and she added that Eirgrid had warned that the figure could increase to 30% by 2030.

"Given the scale of energy and water consumption by data centres, there is a clear public interest in ensuring we have all the facts regarding their operation and environmental impact.

"When it comes to data centres, transparency is important because we know so little about them. We are aware they are heavy users of electricity and water, but we’re not sure exactly how much.

"This is despite us seeking this information from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Uisce Éireann and even from the Taoiseach."

And she accused the Government of "greatly exaggerating" the number of jobs created by data centres.

"We also know that households are paying hundreds more in their electricity bills every year because of the pressure that data centres are putting on our energy system.

"We should not be operating in an information vacuum when Ireland has 10 times the European per capita average of data centres," added Ms Whitmore.

The Social Democrats Data Centre Transparency Bill 2026 seeks to create a publicly accessible centralised register of data centres containing information about their locations, size, carbon emissions, water usage/energy usage, and energy source.