Following more than 30 hours of debate and over 700 motions the Draft South Dublin County Development Plan 2022-2028 was agreed by councillors on Thursday 24th June. A number of the motions discussed related to data centres in the county. People Before Profit Cllr Madeleine Johansson was one of the councillors who submitted motions to ban any further data centres in South Dublin. Her motions were supported by 8 councillors, while 16 councillors voted against. The Draft Plan will be published on the 7th July and put out to public consultation for 10 weeks.
Cllr Madeleine Johansson commented: “I’m very disappointed that my motions to ban new data centres was defeated. The council planners acknowledge that Dublin has become a target for these centres which consume enormous amounts of energy. There are already a number of them in South Dublin County and they provide very little employment relative to their size.
“While I welcome some of the conditions attached to any new centres, such as strong energy efficiency measures and measures to support district heating, I believe that land in city regions should be used for more jobs intensive enterprises.
“I would encourage members of the public who have concerns about more data centres in the county to make submissions when the public consultation on the draft plan opens in July.”
