A new trade association has been formed to represent Irish companies that operate in the data centre supply chain.
The Irish Data Centre Supplier Alliance (IDCSA) will represent companies across planning, design, construction, mechanical and electrical engineering, energy management, automation and technical services that have benefited from data centre investment in Ireland.
The IDCSA said it has been established to advocate on behalf of its members, demonstrate the data sector's value to the Irish economy and to engage with policymakers to ensure Government policy is practical and supportive of new investment.
Tom Parlon, the former Director General of the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) and a former Minister of State in the Department of Finance, will become the first chair of the IDCSA.
"The growth of the data centre industry over the past 15 years has been one of the foundations of Ireland’s economic recovery since the financial crash," Mr Parlon said.
"The sector has contributed over €20 billion through direct and indirect investment during that time, directly employing 1,800 people whilst supporting thousands more jobs across the Irish supply chain."
"The IDCSA has been established to represent Irish companies that have benefited from the data centre industry, and to advocate for practical solutions to allow data centre investment flow once more," he added.
Last month, the Government published a Large Energy Action Plan (LEAP) aimed at enabling the further development of energy intensive facilities, including data centres.
It followed the lifting of an effective moratorium on new data centre connections.
In December, the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) announced that data centres could be built where they meet at least 80% of their annual energy demand through new renewable electricity sources.
Data centres accounted for 22% of electricity usage in Ireland in 2024, up from just 5% in 2015.
It is estimated the consumption level will grow to almost a third of the national electricity demand by 2030.
The IDCSA said it is calling on the Government to begin developing a number of islanded utility business parks in strategic locations, which are large scale campuses with utility-scale energy and water capacity developed on site to meet next generation FDI investment.
