Lethargic national energy policies cannot be allowed hold back country’s economic progress - MEP Kelleher

Energy Minister Eamon Ryan is playing fast and loose with Ireland’s economic offering to foreign investors and its reputation as a place to do business due to his laissez faire approach to energy,” says Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher.

Kelleher was speaking following comments made by the Amazon CEO where he said that curbs on data centres would threaten jobs and investment into Ireland. This follows on from concerns raised by other State agencies and private companies.

“Ireland talks a good game about being a global leader in the digital space; but part of our offering must be an openness to be a hub for data centres. They are an essential anchor point for large web-based, tech companies.

“Our country blocking new data centre development because of energy concerns is mind boggling and incredibly damaging.

“Earlier this week, we saw many government ministers lauding our potential as a wind energy super power at a conference. If we are truly confident about our ability to maximise our wind energy potential, we should not be worried about data centres in the medium to long term.

“Minister Ryan has a laissez faire approach to energy in this country. Personally, I feel his priority is to lower overall energy usage rather than generate the carbon-free electricity the State requires to both grow economically and to keep itself competitive.

“It seems to me that our State’s energy policy is dictated by a Minister’s personal ideology rather than fact, science and reality.

“From a European perspective, I do not believe that any other Member State would consider giving the proverbial two fingers to the type of investment Ireland is saying no to because of energy concerns.

“It’s quite clear there is a lethargy in our energy policy development. It’s why I’ve called for a standalone Department of Energy to give a new impetus to our flagging energy transition.

“We also need quicker planning decisions; increased investment in ports and a realisation that we must develop a highly skilled workforce capable of serving an industry that can transform our country for the next century.

“Ireland is a growing economy with a growing population. Despite all the plans and programmes, energy usage will continue to increase in Ireland. The only choice is do we put in place the systems to ensure that the electricity produced is carbon-free or renewable,” concluded Kelleher.

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