Irish Facebook data centre ‘is not tax dodge’, says Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been defending his decision to build a new data centre in Ireland against claims the move is a tax dodge.

The social media mogul announced the start of construction of the €200m facility at Clonee on the Meath-Dublin border on his own Facebook page, quickly attracting 800 responses.

But among the congratulations from around the world and tongue-in-cheek job applications from this country, there were questions about why he wasn’t building it in the US, which led to debate about Ireland’s reputation as a tax haven.