People Before Profit Cllr Madeleine Johansson has welcomed the decision by South Dublin County Council to refuse planning permission for a gas fired data centre at Profile Park, Nangor Rd, Clondalkin.
The councillor, who had previously had a motion passed in 2021 to remove data centres as permissible use of land in the South Dublin administrative area for six years, which the government subsequently ordered the council to reverse, said that this decision was a win for climate action.
She said: “The decision by the council to refuse this application for yet another data centre in this area is a win for climate action. The government have allowed a proliferation of data centres across this country when we are in the middle of a climate emergency, which the current Taoiseach announced himself. These policy decisions are in direct contradiction to our climate pledges, as well as the energy security of communities. There has been a recent effort by some to ‘greenwash’ natural gas as a more sustainable alternative to oil or coal. This must be categorically rejected. Natural gas is a fossil fuel and the use of it for producing power is a contributing factor to climate change.”
