Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan has raised concerns at Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) figures which show 50% of the electricity produced in the Dublin region is consumed by data centres.

The Dublin MEP said:

“The latest CRU report dropped the bombshell that 50% of Dublin’s energy is being used by data centres.

“For every kilowatt of energy used by workers, families and local businesses, another kilowatt is consumed by these greedy companies.

“This did not happen by accident. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have totally mismanaged our energy system, rolling out the red carpet for data centres and big businesses, while neglecting the needs of ordinary people and communities.

“The CRU’s new proposals would make this problem even worse, reopening the door for data centres to be connected to the grid using oil and gas generators.

“This is not only totally reckless, but also a betrayal of the CRU’s legal and moral obligation to reduce emissions.

“The government’s priority needs to shift from handing these big corporations a free pass to guzzle our energy, to helping hard pressed workers and families who are already struggling with sky high energy bills.”