“National scandal” - Mayo TD criticises cheaper electricity for data centres amid household price hikes
Paul Lawless TD says households are paying the price as data centres consume growing amounts of electricity while benefiting from lower costs
Mayo TD Paul Lawless has described lower electricity prices for data centres alongside rising household energy costs as a “national scandal”, challenging Tánaiste Simon Harris during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil today (Thursday, May 28) over what he called major inequalities in Ireland’s energy system.
The Aontú deputy said the growing demand for electricity from data centres is placing increasing pressure on the national grid while ordinary households face mounting bills and rising arrears.
Deputy Lawless said data centres accounted for 22% of all electricity used in Ireland in 2024 — more than the total consumed by all urban homes combined — and warned the trend was contributing to long-term price increases for consumers.
“In 2024 data centres used 22% of all electricity in Ireland. That was more than all urban homes combined,” he said.
“Data centres are placing huge pressure on the grid and therefore pushing up electricity prices. A report released today shows that at the current trajectory data centres will add up to €1.4 billion more onto household electricity bills over the next decade.”
Deputy Lawless criticised what he described as a pricing imbalance between large-scale commercial users and ordinary households, claiming current Government policy allows data centres to purchase electricity at approximately half the cost paid by domestic consumers.
“The government policies at the moment allow data centres to buy electricity at half the price that regular households are paying. This is scandalous,” he said.
The Mayo TD also criticised the Government’s approach to energy supports, pointing to the last energy credit announced in November 2024 and arguing that assistance for struggling households disappeared following the general election.
“The government last announced an energy credit in November 2024 — the month of the last general election. But as soon as they got re-elected they completely abandoned credits,” Lawless said.
He said rising electricity costs were having a visible impact on people in Mayo, claiming he had encountered elderly residents distressed by unexpectedly high bills.
“I’ve had elderly people come up to me trembling with their electricity bills asking me if there is a mistake in the bill, because it was so extortionate,” he said.
Deputy Lawless also highlighted figures showing more than 316,000 households are currently in arrears on electricity payments, arguing that consumers are being unfairly burdened while data centres continue to receive lower energy prices and reduced grid connection costs.
He further criticised the profitability of the State-owned energy sector, pointing to executive salaries and what he described as increasing costs for consumers.
“The ESB is a semi-state body. The CEO salary is over €300,000. This is more than what the Taoiseach is paid,” he said. “Already over €300 of what people pay each year on electricity is profit for the ESB.”
The remarks came as Electric Ireland confirmed an 8% price increase from July, which Lawless said would add approximately €250 annually to combined electricity and gas bills for an average household.
Calling for tighter oversight of the sector, the Mayo TD said he had urged the Tánaiste to introduce legislation regulating data centres and ending what he described as unequal pricing practices.
“We need better regulation of the data centre sector,” he said. “I asked the Tánaiste to legislate to regulate the sector, and to put an end to this practice of cheap prices for the rich data centres and expensive prices for ordinary hard-working people.”