08/11/2026
Data Centre Protest ✊
While Fine Gael were holding their Ard Fheis in Cork, two thousand people came together in Dublin to march against data centres.
Offaly is at the front line of this fight.
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael call data centre expansion a “strategic opportunity for the Irish economy.” But what opportunity lies in taking our land, water and power, while the profits leave the country?
Data centres used 23% of Ireland’s electricity last year. Ten years ago it was 5%. Meanwhile, families in Offaly are locked out of home ownership and housing schemes are held up by grid constraints.
Derrygreenagh is Bord na Móna ground. Offaly gave a hundred years of turf to keep the lights on in Ireland. When the peat ended, people here were promised a just transition, with decent jobs and a real future for the Midlands. Instead, it is being lined up for a 710MW gas plant and what could be the biggest data centre in Ireland. We found out from a newspaper, not from the Government.
Sinn Féin’s Grid Prioritisation Framework legislation would decide grid access by the needs of society, not first-come, first-served.
Our heritage is not for sale. I have a petition open calling for a pause on data centres in Offaly. Call in to my office if you want to sign it.
People in Offaly cannot continue to pay the price for this Government’s failures.
