ENVIRONMENTAL NGO FRIENDS of the Earth Ireland has described as “insulting” a claim by the head of Ireland’s data centre lobby that local opposition to data centres is fuelled by “conspiracy theories”.

Digital Infrastructure Ireland (DII) boss Ronan Kelly claimed to The Journal that the sector was being harmed by “disinformation” originating in American politics, but that this opposition across the country would only harm the Irish economy in the long run.

Now, Friends of the Earth CEO Deirdre Duffy has called the effective invoking of Donald Trump, who has said similar, was an “extraordinary attempt to discredit people” participating in Ireland’s democratic planning process.

“Residents have the right to question the wisdom of putting enormous electricity-hungry developments beside their communities,” Duffy said.

Community opposition is not a conspiracy. And Ireland’s energy policy cannot be dictated by an industry that treats democratic accountability as an obstacle to growth.

The remarks traded between the industry lobby and Friends of the Earth comes as the campaigners announce plans for people to take to the street in what is called Ireland’s “first ever march against new data centres” next month.

In its statement, it pointed to local protest groups from across Dublin, Kildare, Waterford, Mayo and Clare who had voiced opposition to date centres in their areas.

On Saturday 7 November, it’s expected these local opponents will join a march through Dublin against the industry’s expansion in various cities, towns and villages.

The demonstration will be part of a European-wide day of action on data centres, according to Friends of the Earth, which said that over 85 groups from ten countries are participating.

Brexiteers

Friends of the Earth criticised the data centre lobby for claiming concern over data centre developments was disinformation originating in American politics, and for comparing local residents to Brexiteers.

Kelly had claimed that the concerns around the data centre industry had spread “over the past three to four months” on the back of the issue starting to dominate American politics.

He also said that people celebrating over successfully stopping a data centre was “very analogous to me of the scenes in the UK of people on the streets when they secured the Brexit vote”.

Kelly had added: “Ten years later, we don’t see them celebrating anymore.”

Digital Infrastructure Ireland boss Ronan Kelly said opponents were going to do economic harm to Ireland in the long run

Responding, Friends of the Earth chief executive Duffy said people are “entitled to ask what a major industrial development will mean for their homes, their water supplies, their electricity bills and for impact on the need to reduce dependency on fossil fuels”.

“These are legitimate questions. An industry seeking public trust should answer those concerns and be transparent,” Duffy said.

Duffy added that the Brexit comparison was “cynical” and frames any challenge to the industry’s expansion as “economic sabotage, while avoiding the central question which is who benefits, who pays and who gets a say” in a development.

Duffy continued:

Communities have every right to demand that development serves the public interest, and that its costs and consequences are properly assessed.

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

The report highlighted the heavy demand data centres place on Ireland’s energy systems, with 21% of all electricity here used for data processing.

When contacted about Duffy’s remarks, DII said it “recognises the importance of communities raising questions” about data centre development, but it added that the debate must be “evidence-based and recognise the sector’s significant economic and societal contribution”.

“The debate should not be about choosing between digital development and the environment, but about how Ireland can deliver both,” DII said.

It added that data centres are “critical national infrastructure” underpinning Ireland’s modern economy by supporting financial services, healthcare, public services and the wider technology sector.

“Ireland’s continued success as a global digital hub depends on having the infrastructure necessary to support these services,” the lobby group said.