Sinn Féin MEP for Dublin, Lynn Boylan, has strongly criticised the government’s kite-flying on plans to introduce household water charges while continuing to shield data centres from transparency requirements regarding their water usage.

The Sinn Féin MEP for Dublin said:

“The government today was kite-flying on plans to charge households for water, yet they still refuse to disclose how much water data centres are consuming in Dublin and across the state.

“Asking ordinary people to pay for wastage while multinational tech giants continue to operate behind a veil of secrecy would be a blatant double standard.

“The EU Commission has already rebuked the government for failing to comply with its legal obligation to make data centre water usage publicly available.

“Now, instead of addressing this glaring lack of transparency, the government is looking to place the burden on households instead.

“For energy, we know that data centre demand has ballooned in recent years while household demand has remained the same, yet the public has no clear picture of the impact of data centres on our water resources.

“Transparency is not optional because it is a legal requirement under EU law. The government must immediately release detailed data on water usage by data centres before asking the public to foot the bill for water services.

“This government’s priorities are clear: protect corporate interests and make working people pay. I will continue to fight for transparency and accountability so that the public knows exactly where our water resources are going.”