To: Department of Climate, Energy and The Environment. Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation

Students for a Sustainable Ireland: Ban Data Centre Expansion

We are a group of 5th and 6th Year students from across Ireland, studying Leaving Certificate Climate Action and Sustainable Development. This petition is our call to action, a demand for the Government to protect our climate, our futures, and our right to a sustainable Ireland. Teachers, school staff, students, parents, and the wider community are invited to sign and show support. 

Our petition is simple:  

  • enforce an immediate moratorium (ban) on the construction of new data centres and 
  • halt the expansion of existing ones until Ireland meets its climate and renewable energy targets. 
 

Why is this important?

Ireland now hosts 107 operational data centres, nearly all of which take electricity from our national grid.  In 2025, Ireland’s data centres consumed 23% of the country’s metered electricity, surpassing the combined usage of all urban homes (18%) and doubling that of rural households. Just a decade ago, in 2015, they used only 5% (CSO, 2025). For context, the average data centres share of electricity across Europe is about 2.7%, meaning Ireland’s data centres use over eight times the EU average. 

Between 2015 and 2023, Irish households paid an extra €715 million in electricity bills; money that could have been spent on essentials like food, housing, or retrofitting homes (Friends of The Earth, 2026). 

This isn’t just an energy crisis, it’s a cost-of-living emergency, with ordinary people forced to subsidise the profits of Big Tech while our climate and wallets pay the price. 

This past year, Europe has faced extreme weather (record heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, and floods) highlighting the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  

Research from University College Cork (UCC) highlights that the rapid expansion of data centres has outpaced the growth of renewable energy in Ireland, effectively cancelling out emissions reductions achieved through clean energy projects. Instead of using clean energy to power homes, hospitals, and schools, our resources are being diverted to fuel the corporate profits of data centres. 

How can the Government claim to lead on climate action while expanding an industry that directly contradicts it?