"Welcome news for Mayo" - Lawless on Killala data centre refusal

PLANNING permission for a data centre proposed for Killala has been overturned by An Coimisiún Pleanála, a decision Aontú TD Paul Lawless has welcomed.

Deputy Lawless said Ireland was being used as "Europe's data centre," noting that data centres accounted for 22 per cent of all electricity used in the State in 2024 - more than all urban homes combined.

He said data centres were putting pressure on the national grid and driving up electricity prices, while paying less per unit than ordinary households.

The Knock-based TD pointed to a wave of planning applications for large wind turbines, wind farms and solar farms across the west of Ireland in recent years, which he linked directly to data centre demand for electricity.

Deputy Lawless said the national grid could not handle the electricity generated by wind turbines, forcing many to be switched off once capacity was reached.

He said taxpayers' money was then used to compensate wind farm companies for electricity they had not produced, describing this as "scandalous."

He said he understood the Killala decision hinged on the developer's failure to demonstrate a grid connection agreement or prove the grid had sufficient capacity to power the data centre.

Deputy Lawless said he hoped the refusal would "stop or slow" the push by developers for further windfarms across the county.