Irish Examiner view: Government at odds with public mood in regards to data centres

Some 60% of survey respondents in an Irish Times/Ipsos B&A poll stated they wanted the building of data centres to be halted

Protests against data centres are due to take place in Ireland and 10 other European countries next week.

Protests against data centres, due to take place in Ireland and at least 10 other European countries next week, should serve as a wake-up call for the Government.

Organised here by Friends of the Earth and local groups opposing data centres in their areas, the demonstrations will highlight the enormous energy demands of these facilities, the threat they pose to Ireland’s climate targets, and the additional costs that consumers may ultimately bear.

The protests come amid growing international opposition to the construction of ever-larger data centres. 

In the US, they have become a major issue in the midterm elections taking place this day week. Sixteen states have proposed laws to ban or temporarily halt new developments, while candidates from both Republican and Democratic parties have sided with communities resisting them. 

Opposition has now halted an estimated €64bn worth of new data centre projects.

Predictably, given the substantial financial support he has received from big tech, US president Donald Trump has dismissed opposition to data centres as “a sick conspiracy”.

The Government here has adopted a more measured approach, emphasising the economic importance of such centres to a country heavily dependent on the tech sector, while seeking to address concerns about energy consumption and carbon emissions.

However, the public remains unconvinced. 

An Irish Times/Ipsos B& poll last month found that more than 60% of respondents wanted the building of data centres to be halted, at least temporarily, with just 23% in favour of further construction.

While the immediate focus of next week’s protests will be the environmental consequences of data centres, their demands on the electricity grid, and their impact on local communities, it is likely that broader anxieties about the rapid advance of AI will also find expression. 

After all, the AI boom is driving the demand for more and bigger data centres.

The Government has a dilemma. It wants to keep Ireland positioned as an attractive destination for global technology, and ensure we are not left behind as AI develops. 

However, the infrastructure required to sustain that expansion comes at a cost, and the benefits cannot simply be assumed to outweigh the environmental, economic, and social consequences.

The challenge for the Government is to give a clear and credible explanation of why we need more data centres, who stands to benefit from them, and who will bear the costs. 

Unless it can make a convincing case that the national interest is being served by more data centres — and to date, it has not — it risks finding itself increasingly at odds with public opinion.

No winners in legal aid row

Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan will meet the Law Society tomorrow in a bid to resolve the dispute over his legal aid reforms, which has now dragged on for nearly four months. 

For the vast majority of people, largely unaffected by the row, the outcome will be of little consequence. That is no reason to be indifferent to the damage it has caused.

The people who should concern us are those who have paid a heavy price; the victims of crime, including victims of rape and other violence, who have had to brace themselves for the ordeal of giving evidence only to have their cases adjourned.

Young people caught up in the criminal justice system have also suffered. And while there may be little public sympathy for those accused of crime, they too have found themselves deprived of the legal representation to which they are entitled.

A consequence of this, Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan told the Dáil last week, was that a man alleged to have threatened to rape and kill his former partner was allowed to cross-examine her in court.

The two parties to the dispute are well able to articulate the arguments supporting their positions. 

The minister is adamant that the criminal legal aid system was badly in need of reform, while solicitors insist the reforms are unacceptable and fail to compensate them adequately for complex cases.

Four months into the dispute, however, the issue is no longer simply about who has the strongest argument; it is why two intelligent parties, each with a responsibility to the public, have allowed their differences to cause such harm for so long.

Neither side will emerge as a clear winner from this. Both must be prepared to retreat from their entrenched positions, make concessions, and find a workable settlement. 

Even if tomorrow’s meeting produces a breakthrough, it will take many months for the courts system to clear the backlog. It is incumbent upon the two parties to end the harms already suffered by people who deserve a lot better.

Small price for peace of mind

Last week’s disruption of digital bank Revolut’s services was a timely reminder of just how reliant we have become on digital payments and how quickly everyday life can be interrupted when they fail. 

Thousands of customers found themselves unable to access their accounts, pay for a morning coffee or transfer money.

As a nation, we have enthusiastically embraced cashless transactions, a trend accelerated by the covid pandemic, which made many people wary of handling notes and coins. 

A survey earlier this month found that 90% of purchases in pubs and nightclubs are now made with contactless payments, with just 5% made in cash. In retail, cash accounts for a mere 3% of transactions.

The convenience of cashless transactions is undeniable, but the Revolut disruption underlines the importance of having a backup. 

Irish holidaymakers learned the lesson the hard way last year when a major power outage in Spain and Portugal knocked out ATMs and electronic payments, leaving some unable to buy even a bottle of water.

Keeping a few euro in our pockets or wallet may seem old-fashioned, but it is a small price to pay for peace of mind.