Over 200 People Attend Naas Data Centre Meeting As Debates Continue Over Data Centre Plans

Last night, the Kildare Data Centre Awareness Campaign held a meeting regarding its concerns over the development of data centres in Kildare

Debates over planned data centres have continued in Kildare.

Last night, the Kildare Data Centre Awareness Campaign (KDCAC) held a meeting in the Osprey Hotel in Naas, about its concerns over the "rapid proliferation of data centres in County Kildare", saying it wants "greater transparency and control over the region's development".

Planning permission was granted for a €3 billion data centre campus by Herbata Ltd on a site adjacent to the M7 motorway and Naas Business Park.

However, an appeal has been lodged against it, triggering a formal review process that is now before An Coimisiún Pleanála.

The campaign group is calling for the removal of zoned land for a proposed second data centre site before any planning application is lodged.

The zoned land, located at Jigginstown, was specifically zoned for data centre development under the Naas Local Area Plan 2021-2027.

Speaking on this morning's Kildare Today show, member of KDCAC Sorcha O'Neill said around 80 people were expected to turn up to last night's meeting, but closer to 200 people attended:

"People were very concerned [at the meeting], they wanted to know what they could do to stop this, they reported water outages in Naas and as far as Celbridge, some spoke about AI, there was many concerns, but not one person mentioned anything in support of data centres", she said.

"It's not built yet, but we have concerns already because we're under a hosepipe ban, and our electricity bills are going up to facilitate the data centres, there's problems even before they arrive and once they're in there's not much we can do about it."

Ms O' Neill previously spoke to Kfm in August about the proposed data centres.

Also speaking on the show was Independent Councillor on the Naas MD, Seamie Moore, who said that data centres are not an issue that is up to local authorities:

"Things like data centres are controlled by a utilities regulator, and there's a person whose job at national level is to say 'you can have water, we have plenty of it, or you can have energy', so it's not up to the local councillors or indeed the local authority.

"There's no supported evidence that the shortages that are being identified by the campaign group are justifiable, we've a lot of pressures on a lot of things moment in terms of energy and water, on the basis of how fast Ireland is developing and how many more are living in the country compared to 20 years ago."

Cllr Moore added that there are "measures in place to upgrade all of these requirements, and there's no problems and will be no problems".

Mayor of Naas, and Independent Ireland Cllr Bill Clear has brought forward a motion to Kildare County Council, to review the existing zoning designation on the lands at Jigginstown/Maudlins.

In its response, seen by Kfm News, KCC stated:

"The lands at Jigginstown/Maudlins occupy a strategically important location within the economic development structure of Naas and form part of the overall supply of lands available to support investment, employment creation and economic growth. The retention of a range of employment zoning objectives, including those facilitating data centre development, contributes to the flexibility and resilience of the local economy and ensures that Naas can respond to evolving investment opportunities.

"Any proposal to alter an established zoning objective should be informed by a comprehensive evidence base, including an assessment of land use requirements, economic development needs, infrastructure capacity, energy considerations, environmental impacts, consistency with regional and national planning policy, and the potential implications for the overall settlement strategy for Naas. Such analysis has not been undertaken to date and there is currently no planning evidence demonstrating that the existing zoning objective is no longer appropriate. In the absence of a robust planning justification demonstrating a material change in circumstances since the adoption of the Naas Local Area Plan, it is considered that the existing zoning remains appropriate and that an amendment of the Plan is not warranted at this time."

Writing to Kfm News, Sinn Féin Cllr on the Kildare-Newbridge MD, Noel Connolly, said he has put forward a full council motion relating to data centre development.

He is asking KCC to write to the Minister for Climate and the Minister for Housing, seeking the introduction of a national moratorium on new data centre development until a public consultation process has been undertaken and national planning guidelines for data centres have been prepared and published.

The full interview from this morning's Kildare Today can be heard below: