Taoiseach rejects 'housing vs data centres' energy claim by senior civil servant

Irish Examiner

4 days ago

The Taoiseach has rejected claims from a senior civil servant that Ireland faces a choice between providing energy for data centres or housing.
Oonagh Buckley, secretary general at the Department of Environment, Climate and Energy, told an event on Wednesday that data centres had used up the spare capacity in the energy grid, which would require policymakers to make stark choices.
'We're having to even think about prioritising what is the social need of the demand [for energy] — is it housing or is it AI (artificial intelligence)?' Ms Buckley said.
'We're going to have to think much more about managing demand.'
Speaking at the Bloom event in the Phoenix Park, however, Micheál Martin said that he was "surprised" at the comments.
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"I was surprised by that comment. I mean, we have a cabinet subcommittee. Minister Darragh O'Brien is very clear that we need to drive on with renewable energy. And there's a lot of work yet to be done... The presentation of the issue is not true."
2021 file picture of Oonagh Buckley who is now the secretary general at the Department of Environment, Climate and Energy. File picture: Colin Keegan, Collins
Speaking in Dublin earlier on Thursday, infrastructure minister Jack Chambers said that Ms Buckley had oversimplified the issue.
'I think the binary simplicity that was put forward by the secretary general doesn't reflect the general issue that's at play here,' Mr Chambers said.
'Yes, we have the constraints that are immediate, but if we're going to build and enhance the green and digital transition as an economy and build the prosperity and opportunities that will come from AI, we need to work with the community that is there and the investors that are there in terms of digital infrastructure, who acknowledge that there are short-term constraints that the secretary general was reflecting,' he added.
He admitted there were immediate constraints on the grid, but the Government needed to set out a roadmap for the medium term to allow digital infrastructure like data centres to continue to be built in Ireland.
Asked if secretary generals needed to 'know their place', Mr Chambers said it was fair for senior civil servants to make 'observations'.
'But their primary duty is to implement policy and to drive delivery of the programme for Government and in fairness they do,' Mr Chambers said.
Mr Chambers was also asked about comments by Graham Doyle, the secretary general of the Department of Housing, who spoke out against the introduction of a "housing tsar".
Mr Chambers pushed back by saying senior civil servants are required to implement Government policy.
Sinn Féin's spokesperson for the Environment, Climate and Energy, Pa Daly said that Ms Buckley's comments were "a stark warning".
If even the government's own officials are now calling out the government's reckless approach to [energy] demand management, it is clear there is a serious problem.
'We are in the midst of a seemingly never-ending housing crisis. Solving it should be the government's number one priority.
'Instead, both they and the energy regulator are rolling out the red carpet for data centres — placing the needs of the corporate balance sheet over the essential needs of ordinary workers and families."