2nd June 2026
The Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke, today published “The Value of Data Centres to Ireland”, an independent report prepared by KPMG which assesses the economic contribution and strategic importance of the data centre sector in Ireland.
The report demonstrates that data centres are a critical component of Ireland’s digital infrastructure, supporting economic activity, employment and investment across the wider economy.
Key findings
The analysis finds that:
- data centres underpin much of Ireland’s broader economic activity with over €100 billion in annual Gross Value Added (GVA), 875,000 jobs, and €14.6 billion in annual employment-related taxes anchored by data centres in Ireland across the sectors identified as being most dependent on their activity.
- in 2024, construction and operation of data centres collectively accounted for €2.2 billion in GVA, 19,500 jobs and €280 million in employment-related-tax,
- While data centres are large energy users, unlike other European countries that have heavy-industry bases, Ireland’s industrial electricity demand is primarily concentrated in our digital economy – this is our core energy-intensive industry.
The analysis confirms that data centres are fundamental to Ireland’s position as a leading global hub for digital and technology-driven enterprise. They form a critical part of the State’s digital infrastructure, supporting activities including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, financial services and public sector digital services.
The study also finds that the construction activity in Ireland associated with data centres has fostered deep expertise within Ireland’s High-Tech Construction (HTC) industry, enabling Irish-owned firms to export their skills globally. For 2024, it is estimated that €2.1 billion in HTC exports —approximately 40% of HTC exports from Irish-owned companies — was linked to data centre-related activity.
The report highlights that data centres not only generate direct economic value from the construction and operation of data centres, but also enable activity across the wider economy. Digitally intensive sectors, including ICT services, finance, healthcare, retail and professional services, rely on high-quality data centre infrastructure to support their core operations and innovation.
The report also underscores their importance in attracting and retaining foreign direct investment. Access to reliable, high-performance digital infrastructure is an increasingly important factor for multinational companies, particularly in technology-driven sectors. The availability of data centre capacity in Ireland strengthens the State’s competitiveness and supports its ability to attract and retain such investment.
Minister Burke said:
“This report provides clear evidence of the critical contribution that data centres make to the Irish economy. The sector plays a central role in supporting investment, anchoring high-quality jobs and promoting Ireland’s position as a leading global digital hub.”
“The report highlights that the continued development of data centre capacity must be aligned with Ireland’s economic, energy and climate objectives; through our new Large Energy User Plan, all new data centres must provide their own energy generation onsite or nearby, 80% of which must be from renewable sources. Government is taking a strategic, plan-led approach to ensure that this growth supports our wider economy, strengthens our competitiveness and is delivered in a sustainable way”.
The Minister also said:
“Data centres are critical enabling infrastructure for a wide range of sectors across the economy, supporting both indigenous enterprise and foreign direct investment. As set out in the Government’s National Digital and AI Strategy, Digital Ireland – Connecting Our People, Securing Our Future, our ambition is to position Ireland as a global leader in digital and artificial intelligence. Data centres are central to delivering on that ambition, providing the secure, high-performance infrastructure needed to store and process data and to enable businesses across the economy to adopt and scale AI.”
Supporting sustainable development
The report acknowledges several challenges associated with further expansion of the sector, including increasing energy demand, grid capacity constraints, and the need to manage carbon emissions in line with national climate targets. However, it also highlights opportunities to support renewable energy deployment and to contribute to regional economic development through more balanced growth.
Government policy, including the Large Energy User Action Plan (LEAP), provides a framework for a coordinated and sustainable approach to future development. This includes a more plan-led approach to the location of new capacity and stronger alignment with renewable energy infrastructure, ensuring that growth in the sector supports energy security, climate objectives and broader economic development.
Conclusion
The report concludes that continued, managed development of the data centre sector will be critical to maintaining Ireland’s competitiveness, supporting digitalisation and enabling future economic growth.
The report can be found at: Report on the value of data centres to Ireland
ENDS
Back to Department News