"Data centres currently consume more than 22% of electricity in Ireland" (Beyond Fossil Fuels report)

"The rapid expansion of data centres has drained a staggering €715 million from the Irish economy between 2015 and 2023. During the last energy crisis, the poorest households paid an extra €209 in total between 2021-2023, as data centres currently consume more than 22% of electricity in Ireland. Per capita, Ireland now hosts data centres that consume a larger share of national electricity demand than any other reported country in the world", according to a new report commissioned by Friends of the Earth Ireland and Beyond Fossil Fuels, released on 28/05/2026.

Furthermore, the report, titled "The Cost of Data Centres: Modelling the Household Electricity Costs of Ireland’s Data Centre Sector, authored by postdoctoral researcher Dr Seán Fearon", warns that "in the event of another global energy shock caused by events such as the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the war on Iran, additional costs could soar to as much as €1.6 billion over the next decade".

Former Environment Minister Eamon Ryan had defended Ireland’s role as the “world’s leading hub for data centres”, on…