Ireland, and Dublin in particular, is recognised as an up-and-coming global data centre hub. It is
not the dominant hub in Europe – the group term ‘FLAP-D’ being Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam,
Paris and Dublin is used by market analysts to describe the biggest capital hubs for ICT
infrastructure in Europe. Dublin/Ireland is notable amongst these, due to the recent and rapid
growth in data centres here, and, because Ireland has attracted the world’s leading technology
multinationals to establish their European bases
In 2022 the Government Statement on the Role of Data Centres in Ireland’s Enterprise Strategy stated that “data centres are core digital infrastructure and play an indispensable role in our economy and society” So how come we no longer welcome them?
Ireland needs to welcome Data Centre development the same way it welcomes our annual increasing corporation tax income. With demand for European data centres set to triple by 2030, Ireland is now considered a second tier DC country. With an estimated 3GW of development already under consideration across 20 sites in Scotland, the country is poised to become Europe’s next data centre hub. Whilst here in Ireland, we ponder and discuss options and are nervous to make actionable bold decisions that will create an economic boom for the country for the next 15-20 years.
While this increased demand may be unwelcome, it is an unstoppable force, which should not be ignored for the strategic benefit it will create.
It is clear that the UK is seeking to reorganise the mess that is the British economy. It understands and welcomes the age of the “artificial intelligence sector” and understands it needs to remove “barriers to new data centres”. Spain has also sought to actively develop its data centre sector, and investments totalling about €22 billion have been announced this year.
Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Finland have an abundance of renewable energy resources, more than can be consumed by their people. These countries are of course on the radar of Global Hyperscaler’s.
Most economists will say we should not rely on our corporation tax intake, all say we should look at alternatives and the number 1 alternative is to get back on the train and welcome data centre development and encourage it.
