The Taoiseach has said every effort will be made to keep the lights on this winter in the face of strain on the power grid.
It comes as the Dáil has been debating a motion calling for a moratorium on new data centres in Ireland.
The Social Democrats led calls this morning for a pause on any new data centres in Ireland:
"Now I thought the Government had taken their eye off the ball with this - that they'd fallen asleep at the wheel when it came to data centre increases," said Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore.
"I've never been as frightened" says Independent @catherinegalway that the Government either doesn't understand the impact of data centres or is entirely enthralled to developers
— Seán Defoe (@SeanDefoe) September 29, 2021
"But it seems this is actually a conscious decision. They consciously allowed data centres to increase. To the point we're potentially facing blackouts," she added.
Yesterday, an Oireachtas committee was told that an average sized data centre uses the same amount of electricity as Kilkenny city, and around 500,000 litres of water each day.
There's now around 70 operational data centres in Ireland, with more under construction.
There are more that are looking for planning permission, and if they're allowed go ahead, they would use up around 70% of Ireland's electricity.
The Taoiseach Micheal Martin said it was "dramatic" to ask if the lights in the country would be able to stay on throughout this winter.
He said, "any short-term problems that arise would be demand management."
The Government will be opposing the motion calling for a moratorium on data centres, with Minister Eamon Ryan calling it a blunt proposal.
