Tonight, the Dáil will vote on a People Before Profit motion calling for data centres to pay a levy of 20 cent per kilowatt-hour (kWh) on the electricity they consume, and for the levy proceeds to fund €500 electricity credits for households.
A levy on data centres of 20 cent per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity they consume would equalise their electricity charges with prices paid by households and would raise an estimated €1.5 billion.
A €500 electricity credit for every household and a further €500 electricity credit for households with a person(s) with a disability would cost an estimated €1.25 billion.
Richard Boyd Barrett said:
“Households in Ireland pay the highest electricity prices in the EU. At about €0.40 per kilowatt hour, that’s 38% higher than the EU average. However, data centres, which consume a quarter of our electricity, pay an average of about €0.20 per kWh, half the price paid by households.
“Our motion, to be voted on by TDs tonight, calls for an electricity consumption levy of €0.20 per kWh on data centres so data centres’ electricity unit costs are the same as those paid by households. This is the bare minimum required to address this gross inequality.
“This €0.20 levy would raise €1.5 billion, more than enough to pay for a €500 annual electricity credit for every household and an additional €500 electricity credit for households with people with disabilities. This is the sort of measure people need to take some of the intolerable cost-of-living pressures off their shoulders and I hope that our motion will pass today and that the Government will act speedily to implement it.”
Paul Murphy TD said:
“Our motion to charge data centres the same for their electricity as households pay and to use the levy to fund electricity credits is part of a rising tide against data centres that is evident across the country.
“Last week’s planning decision to refuse planning for a new data centre in Mayo is part of that resistance. There are growing local campaigns of opposition to new data centres in Kilmeaden in Waterford, in Naas, in Dundalk, in Meath, and in Derry. A related People Before Profit online public meeting had 100 attendees last night.
“Yesterday I attended an Oireachtas AI committee meeting where the recent Government commissioned KPMG report on data centres was discussed. We know the Government told KPMG to remove any negative commentary, and to present an entirely positive and therefore an entirely dishonest report. It’s farcical and no one is falling for it.
“People do not want any more data centres taking our electricity, gas and water and creating environmental nuisance and damage. An immediate ban on new data centres is essential to stop the accumulation of more of this toxic waste of the 21st century.”