Kildare residents to take part in march against new data centres

Kildare residents will join thousands of people all over Ireland in Dublin on Saturday (November 7) to voice their opposition against new big data centre developments.

The demonstration - which is part of a European wide day of action on data centres - is being organised by Friends of the Earth Ireland in association with community groups.

To date over 101 groups from fifteen countries across Europe are participating.

Friends of the Earth Ireland says the proliferation of data centres is increasing energy bills and locking Ireland into a new generation of fossil fuels. Data centres now use 23% of all electricity in Ireland, a figure which is unprecedented globally.

Ireland was cited recently in a UN report on the environmental impact of runaway AI growth as a “cautionary tale”.

In Kildare there are three data centre developments currently proposed:

• Herbata Ltd are proposing a €3 billion hyperscale data centre complex spanning across Jigginstown, Halverstown, and Newhall. Kildare County Council approved initial plans under specific conditions, and this decision is currently under appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála. This development would triple the electricity demand of the entire county if built.
• Microsoft has acquired a substantial 54.55-hectare site in Jigginstown designated exclusively for data centre use under the Kildare Local Area Plan.
• The Kildare Innovation Campus proposed for Barnhall Road, Leixlip, includes plans for a phase-one data centre developed in tandem with digital/technology infrastructure.

Niamh Fitzgibbon from Kildare Data Centre Awareness commented: “Lots of communities in Ireland and Europe are facing runaway large-scale data centre development but too often each community fights this alone. The same issues are showing up everywhere, from Kildare to the rest of the world. We're standing together, and if our representatives won't represent us, we'll represent ourselves.

“Our community is being asked to pay the price for big tech’s profits. We take a lot of hope in seeing other communities around Ireland and Europe are all facing the same thing and getting organised.”

Rosi Leonard, Data Centre Campaign lead for Friends of the Earth Ireland said: “New data centres pose a threat to energy security, climate goals, clean energy targets, affordability, and demand for new fossil fuels. We’re proud to join other countries and communities who are all asking the same question as us: who benefits from massive data centre build out, and who pays the price?”

She added: “A moratorium on new data centres in Ireland should be common sense; they are increasing our energy bills, they are locking us into a new generation of fossil fuels, and workers’ rights are being undermined more and more by expensive gambles on AI.”

The protest starts at 12 noon from the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin on Saturday, November 7.