Kildare meeting on data centres taking place tonight

The Kildare Data Centre Awareness Campaign will hold a meeting this evening (Thursday 3 September) at 7:30pm in the Osprey Hotel in Naas.

The campaign is operating on a very a clear mandate - to pause and scrutinise the rapid proliferation of data centres in County Kildare.

Organisers are calling on local residents, business owners, and community groups to unite in demanding greater transparency and control over the region’s development.

Data centres have become a defining feature of Ireland’s economic landscape, promising jobs and investment.

However, this growth often comes at a cost to communities, including increased strain on water resources, higher electricity demand, traffic congestion, and a shift in the character of rural areas.

The Kildare Data Centre Awareness Campaign believes it is time for the community to have a say in these decisions.

The campaign is focused on two primary objectives, firstly, a moratorium on new data centres, in addition to supporting the general call for a national moratorium as led by Friends of the Earth and An Taisce, the awareness campaign is urging Kildare County Council to enact an immediate moratorium on granting planning permission for new data centre developments.

This pause would allow for a comprehensive and independent review of the cumulative environmental, social, and infrastructural impacts of the facilities on the county.

Secondly, remove the data centre zoning from preliminary assessment phase (P2) in planning objectives. (This is when project developers meet the planners for a semi-informal laying of suggestions, ground rules and expectations before the formal planning application is submitted.) Regarding the P2 project, the campaign highlights that final planning permission has not yet been applied for.

Therefore, the council has the authority to intervene, and the campaign is requesting that the P2 be conducted anew, ensuring all current concerns and community input are properly considered before any application proceeds.

Cllr. Bill Clear will raise a motion to this effect at the next council meeting.

“The campaign is not about being anti-technology or anti-progress,. It is pro-community and sustainability. We want our council to act as a steward for Kildare’s future rather than be short-sighted and approve whatever is submitted to them. We invite all members of the public to show their support by signing the official petition. This will demonstrate the breadth of concern within the community and provide tangible evidence of public sentiment to elected officials.

To engage the community, the campaign will host its first Town Hall meeting on September 3 at 7.30pm at the Osprey Hotel. All are welcome to attend, hear from experts, ask questions and discuss the path forward.

“Our message is supported by local residents, and business owners who will be directly affected by the planned data centres, including world-renowned soprano and Kildare treasure Celine Byrne and the ITBA, a body which represents local stud farms,” said Krystle Foley, Chair of the organising committee.