The Government today published a policy statement outlining Ireland’s commitment to taking a plan-led approach to the development of data centres.
The Statement was prepared by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, in conjunction with other relevant government departments, following a Government agreement last October to strengthen the Strategic Policy Framework around the development of data centres in Ireland.
This Policy Statement aims to drive Ireland’s ambition in the digital economy as a location of choice for investment and a seed-bed for technology entrepreneurship across a range of sectors and activities.
The Government Statement also highlights that IDA Ireland will increase its emphasis on promoting a range of regional options for data centre investment. The IDA has recently identified specific sites in regions throughout Ireland that are potentially suitable for accommodating the sustainable development of large scale data centre projects in terms of proximity to necessary energy and other appropriate infrastructures.
The report says this is building on the work that IDA Ireland has already done and will continue to do to actively promote a range of regional options for data centre investment, while also having regard to the success of Dublin in attracting data centre investment to date and capacity for future growth.
Launching the Statement, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys said, "We all know that data centres present challenges given that they’re very energy intensive, however, they are also critically important to ensuring that Ireland continues to be a leader in the digital economy. This is about striking a balance between the challenges and opportunities."
She added, "While the number of people directly employed in data centres is relatively small, the fact is there are over 100,000 employed in ICT companies here. The reality is many of those companies need data centres to facilitate their activities and continued growth."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
